Her
by SourceOfEvil
Summary: I know that name, I know those eyes, I know that smile, I know that face…it's her.
1. Chapter 1

At this point, I don't even care how many stories I start anymore lol. But I already have 5 chapters written, so i'll just update a chapter whenever I'm too busy to get another story updated or while i'm writing on another one. So at least i'm making progress! I think i'm going to start doing that from now on, just writing 3 + chapters so all I have to do is update one of them while you're waiting on another one.

* * *

"Hmm, do I go with red, or do I go with black?" Stephanie asked aloud to herself as she stared at the two dresses in front of her, the black and grey faded stripped bandage dress was short, but appropriate. The other was a plain red dress, not too flashy but just right. "Fuck it, i'll wear the jumper" She said as she pulled out her black, gold belted jumpsuit.

"And we're back" Stephanie heard on the tv as she ran back into the bedroom. "And I must say this is the most hilarious man I have ever met in my entire life."

"Yes, yes he is" Stephanie said agreeing with the news anchor before her eyes slowly drifted over to the muscular blonde that sat across from her in a black chair.

"So you have to tell me, I just have to know this because with all the success of your books, and with a good majority of them being turned into very successful movies that you've helped direct, will we be seeing your beautiful words come to life once again with this masterpiece, will there be a movie?"

The man chuckled slightly and sat up in his seat and gave a warm smile that showed off his beautiful, pearly white teeth. "I don't know" he said with a shrug "we'll see" he said winking at her.

The news lady blushed and then turned towards the camera. "Well, there you have it folks, Paul Michael has done it again, and whether or not we will get to see his new book ' _Her'_ come to life in theaters, well, we'll just have to wait and see" she said as she smiled at the camera before it cut off shortly after.

It was not too long after Stephanie cut the television off that she heard her phone ring, she walked over and picked up the phone and smiled. "Hey you"

"Hey babe, did you catch my interview?"

"I did, you were great as always"

"Thanks", his response made Stephanie laugh because she could already picture the goofy grin he had on his face after she said that, he was a sucker for compliments. "What's so funny?" he asked

"Oh nothing, when will you be home?"

"Sometime tonight if i'm lucky."

"If you're lucky?"

"I'm trying to find a private jet to charter."

"I see, well I'll get the little ones tucked in"

"If I can't get home before then, send my love will you?"

"Of course"

"I love you baby"

"I love you too" Stephanie said as she and her husband said their goodbyes and hung up. She tossed her hair in a quick ponytail and tightened her black silk robe as she headed down the hall. Once she reached the kitchen she made herself a hot cup of tea and and curled up on the couch to go over her lesson plans for the first day back tomorrow. "Damn honors students" she said as she sipped her tea. Every year her university picks multiple high schools to allow their highest scoring students to come and study for free for an entire year to take courses that will count towards their college careers. Steph has been able to avoid it the last three years seeing as how the first two were absolutely horrible, she would never volunteer to do that again and has been avoiding being picked, but with a shortage of professors due to many leaving because of retirement, she had no choice in the matter this year. "They better be on their best behavior" she said as she continued to scan over her paperwork. After an hour of doing so, and with Paul calling to confirm that he would not make it in time to tuck in the kids but would be there in the morning, she put everything away and headed up the stairs to their rooms. "Hey you" she said softly as she saw her son and daughter cuddled up to one another while watching Moana.

"Hey" they replied in unison as they continued watching the movie

"Mind if I join?" Steph asked as she climbed in bed with them and got in the middle

"Mommy, where's daddy?" their youngest child asked

"Oh honey, he can't make it tonight" Stephanie said as she softly brushed away the blonde streaks of hair that fell in front of her daughter's face. "But he'll be here first thing in the morning." She said with a warm smile

"He always has to work"

"I know" Stephanie said softly as she reached over and ran her hand through her son's silky brown hair. He was getting so big, she was starting to wonder how many more moments she was going to get like this and she only hoped that Paul could be with them. "But it's time for bed okay?"

"Nooo" they both cried out in unison, Stephanie couldn't help but laugh, they both were mirror images of their father whenever they pouted.

"We're not doing this tonight guys" Stephanie said as she raised her brow

"can we at least finish the movie?" Murphy asked "pleeeease?"

"Alright, you can finish the movie" Stephanie said as she snuggled in closer to her children and watched the last few moments of the movie with them.

* * *

"Brayden, Murphy! come on down and eat your breakfast or you're going to be late" Stephanie said as she placed the dishes down on the table

"Okay!"

"Coming!"

Stephanie finished setting the table and started a pot of coffee, a major key to making it through this day.

"There she is, there's my baby"

Stephanie turned around and smiled as she ran into Paul's arms. "You made it"

"I told you I would" he said as he lowered his head and placed a lingering hot kiss to his wife's lips, causing a low moan to escape from her. "Mmm" he said as he pulled back, "I think I already know how my night is going to end"

"Oh hush" she said as she turned around before letting out a small shriek. "Ow!" she said rubbing her butt

"Oh you like it" Paul teased as he walked over to the counter and grabbed a piece of turkey bacon. "I hope there's enough for me"

"There is" Stephanie said as she begin to mix in her creme and sugar. "Sit down and i'll fix you a plate" she said as she poured everything into her thermo cup.

"Daddy!" Murphy said as she ran over and jumped in her father's lap.

"Hey Murph, how's my favorite girl in the entire world?"

Her cheeks widened and her small white teeth flashed bright enough to light an entire room. "I'm good, I missed you"

"I missed you too" he said as he placed a kiss on her forehead

"Are you taking me and Bray to school daddy? say yes"

He chuckled. "Yes, yes I am"

"yaaaay!"

"You weren't this happy about me taking you" Stephanie chimed in as she put some papers into her briefcase

"But you always take us mommy"

"Hey dad"

"oh, so i'm dad now? I was 'daddy' a few days ago" Paul said as he gently grabbed his son by the arm and pulled him in for a hug.

"I'm a big boy now" he said flexing his small muscles

"Oh really?" Paul asked as he ruffled his hair

" _Heyyy,_ stop it" Brayden said before he was up in the air laughing

"Not so big now, huh?" Paul asked as he spun his son around

"Careful" Stephanie said as she watched on, she was always nervous whenever Paul played with the kids like that.

"I got this" Paul said as he flipped his son upside down, holding him by his waist. "see?"

"Paul" Stephanie warned as she raised her brow at him

"Daddy stop it!" Brayden said as he began laughing

"Oh, so i'm 'daddy' again?" Paul teased before flipping his son over again and tickling him

"Ye…yeah" Brayden said as he broke away from his father's grip with a huge grin on his face. " _Maybe_ "

"Don't make me tickle you again" Paul said as he leaned over and planted a kiss to his son's forehead.

"Well before you do that, I would like for him to at least eat his breakfast first" Stephanie said pointing to the plate of food that was bound to go cold at any moment if he didn't start soon. Murphy was already halfway finished with hers, she might be a girly girl at times, but she can eat like her father and she can be tough like him too, sometimes tougher.

"Where's mine?" Paul asked innocently

"i'm coming, i'm coming" Stephanie said as she began fixing his plate

"Oh trust me, you _**will be**_ " Paul said with a smirk as he waited for his wife's response. Stephanie blushed and turned around and gave him an evil gaze before turning her attention back to the food. "Don't get mad at me because it's true" he teased

"Shut up" Stephanie said as she sat the plate down in front of him and took Murphy's to the dishwasher "you didn't leave one bite"

"It was good mommy" she said as she hopped down from the chair and went towards the living room to watch her morning cartoons before school.

"Daddy, I bet I can beat you"

"At what?"

"Finishing my breakfast"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"How about no?" Stephanie said as she walked over to them and placed her hands on her hips.

"But" Paul started to say before he was cut off

"I said _**no**_ ," Stephanie said as she folded her arms "I don't need either of you choking like the last time"

"Last time was his fault" Paul said softly as he took a small piece of his bacon and threw it at Brayden

"WAS NOT!" Brayden said as he threw an entire piece at his father which landed on his head

"Hey! no throwing food, either of you"

"He started it" Brayden said pointing to his father

"Did not" Paul said as he grabbed the piece of bacon that Brayden threw off of his head "I was too busy eating, see" he said as he stuffed it into his mouth

"That was mine!"

"Shouldn't have thrown it" Paul said with a mouthful

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "The both of you in one room is too much to handle" she said as she began clearing away the rest of the dishes.

* * *

"Are the kids ready to go?" Paul asked a while later as he walked into their bedroom

"I would assume so" Stephanie said as she played around in her hair a few times to get it just right.

"You look beautiful" Paul said as he walked up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You always do" he said as he placed a soft kiss to the side of her temple.

"Thank you" she said softly

"You ready for your first day?" he said as his hands began to go lower

"Yeah, I mean of course it's going to be a challenge with these honors students but…Paul, what are you doing?"

"Nothing" he said as his hands made their way back up and around to her butt before he squeezed it gently.

"Paul…"

"You know how I get when i'm jet lagged, I need a quick pick me up" he said as he began torturing her neck with tantalizing kisses.

Stephanie moaned and closed her eyes tight at the amazing sensations that Paul had shooting throughout her body. She knew she had to stop him soon or her body would go limp and she would be his for the taking. "Not now" she said softly as she stepped forward out of his embrace, he clearly was not expecting that because lord knows it would not have been that easy and simple had he been aware of her intentions.

"Get back here" he said in demanding, yet very sexy tone

"Later"

He stepped closer and she placed her hand on his chest to stop him before slowly allowing her index finger to trail down from his chest to his abdomen. "I said _later_ " she teased as she quickly kissed his lips and backed away.

"I'm going to hold you to that"

She smirked and motioned towards the bedroom door with a slight nod of her head. "The kids are waiting"

"alright, alright" he said holding his hands up as he walked over "But you owe me" he said pointing at her before walking out of the bedroom.

"don't I always?" Stephanie said as she closed the door behind him and went back over to the mirror to once again correct her hair.

* * *

"Paul Michael just continues to impress, I mean, I have always been a fan of his work but this book right here has to be his greatest work yet"

"I agree Barbara, _Her_ is an amazing novel I would recommend it to everyone."

"I mean Tom, the way he captures the feelings of a father who had to give up his daughter to adoption years ago and tries to find his way back to her really hits home for some people, I mean, he wrote this story so well that it's almost as if it really happened to him."

"That's the brilliance of this man, and I tell you what-"

The man was cut off as Stephanie turned off the radio. "Speak of the devil" she said as she saw his name flash across her phone screen. "How was it, how did she do?"

"She was fine, she didn't cry or anything, It's Brayden i'm a little worried about though"

"Why?" Stephanie asked as she checked her hair at the red light.

"I just don't want him to get influenced by the wrong kids or anything."

"He won't" Stephanie said as she pulled into the parking lot

"I think he's stressed and wants to make an impression"

"Well, he's starting the 4th grade, I think he feels he has to prove something to his peers"

"And that's the thing Steph, I don't want him to feel that way, I just him to be him"

"You know how school life is, we'll just deal with the changes together" Stephanie said as she stepped out of the car "But i'll call you later babe, I need to run to my office really quick before class starts"

"Alright, I love you and have a great day"

"I love you too, and the same to you as well" Stephanie said as she hung up the phone and headed towards her office.

"Dr. Levesque"

"Dr. Chadom" Stephanie responded with a nod of her head and with a smile as she passed her colleague in the hall and walked into her office. "Where to start?" she asked herself as she pulled out her lesson plans yet again.

* * *

"I'm just so nervous"

"Don't be, you'll do fine" Allie said to her friend. "Besides, I heard she's really nice, tough, but nice" she said as they took their seats

"First time in here?" a boy asked as he sat behind them

"Yeah" the shy girl answered

"Don't worry, she's cool, this is my third time having her"

"your **third** time? she's that tough?" the girl asked as her eyes grew wide with fear

He chuckled. "Nah, she teaches other courses and i've had her for them as well, but as far as assignments go, just don't fuck up on your work or be late, she hates that" he said as he ran his hand through his blonde locks before placing his baseball cap on backwards.

"That makes me feel so much better" she said sarcastically as she looked over at Allie who was chuckling slightly

For a few minutes there was nothing but constant chatter amongst the students, some getting acquainted with one another, others talking to classmates they have seen in other classes before and the usual conversation between friends. It all came to a halt when the door slammed shut and everyone in the class turned around to see a beautiful brunette with a tight french bun and glasses on. "Hello, I am Dr. Levesque and welcome to my class, this is course 4452 so I hope you're in the right spot, if not" she said motioning behind her "the way you came in shall be the way you leave out unless you cannot resist looking at me." She said as the students laughed and she continued down the steps. Stephanie walked over to the podium and placed her briefcase down and titled her glasses slightly to fit her face.

"I'm very straight forward and to the point and i've never been known for holding back, you can ask anyone around campus about that." She said with her back still facing towards the class. "Those of you who have had me before already know how I operate." She said as she slowly turned around to face the class with her arms folded "Those of you who have not - _**learn**_ how I operate." She said as she walked over to the middle and pulled down the screen. " The rule for being late - **don't.** I expect you to be here _**on time**_ , if you are late you might as well not bother showing up as you will be asked to leave or the door will already be locked." She said turning to face the class again.

"It is not only a distraction to me, but to your fellow classmates, I also find it very annoying and disrespectful, the same goes for clowning around, i'm paid to teach you, not entertain the jokes you _think_ are funny." she said walking up towards the class. "If you leave my class early, I have the right to remove you from the sign in list, if tardiness or distractions is a reoccurrence I will personally drop you from my class and you and the dean may discuss where you will end up next. Also, you are to get your work done and the assignments turned in _**on time.**_ It's very rare that I give extra credit or make up work, so let's get it right the first time shall we?." She said as she walked back over to the podium and pulled out two sheets of paper from her briefcase. "Since this is a large class, 78 of you to be exact, this will be the _**only**_ time I call roll, attendance will be taken on the sign in sheet that will get passed around, other than that I expect you to be here every class period, after all you are paying for it and I doubt your parents want their hard earned dollars to go to waste, correct? and those of you who are here on scholarship or as honors students, i'm sure you'd hate to lose that privilege, because failing my class will play a prominent role in doing so. Now with that said, let's begin. Josh Abston"

"Here. oh and I have a question"

"Yes?"

"Are you normally this hot when laying down the rules?"

Stephanie smirked as the class laughed. "I don't know, i'll have to ask my husband" she said with a wink. "And if you all are wondering, i'm not as mean as I sounded just now, I just have high expectations and i'm very direct" she said offering a warm smile. "Now, where was I?"

"One more question"

"You have until next Monday to drop this course" Stephanie said as the class erupted into laughter.

The boy smiled "I don't plan on it"

"You didn't read the syllabus then!" one guy shouted from the back which made everyone including Stephanie laugh.

"Oh my god" Stephanie said as she tossed her head back and smiled before looking down at the papers again. "Stephanie Bardner?"

"Here!"

After a few minutes Stephanie was pleased to finally start getting down the list "Aurora McCullan"

"Here" a shy voice said from the middle of the class, Stephanie glanced up and smiled, but it soon faded as she started to stare at the girl, as a matter of fact, she stared for so long that it made everyone else turn around and look at her too.

"Is…is there something wrong professor?" the girl asked with a nervous smile as she sunk down in her seat a little at the unwanted attention she was receiving.

Stephanie said nothing as she continued to stare at the young girl, she was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. She had pretty hazel brown eyes, and flowing brown locks. She looked so familiar, maybe because she **was** , call it instinct but in a flash Stephanie immediately knew who she was and a sharp pain went flying through her chest.

 _I know that name, I know those eyes, I know that smile, I know that face…she's my daughter…it's **her.**_

* * *

 _ **Leave reviews! :)**_ and yes i'm very well aware that the girl in the image is **not** Aurora lol, that's just the closet thing of what I thought a grown up version of her would look like to fit this story.


	2. Chapter 2

Ah what the hell, I was gonna wait but here's another chapter just for the fun of it.

* * *

"Professor?"

"Oh!" Stephanie said as she snapped back into reality "I'm sorry" she said as she looked down at the list again "Allie McGullan"

"Here!" Allie said as she raised her hand

"How in the…" the guy behind them started to say

"I know right, that's how we became friends, based on the fact that our names are so similar" she said with a chuckle

"Wow, that's amazing" he replied

 _Why was she staring at me like that?_ Aurora wondered to herself as she watched her professor go out of her way not to make eye contact with her again.

* * *

Today was a long day to say the least, Stephanie came in and kicked off her shoes, tossed her briefcase to side and didn't even attempt to hang her coat up on the rack, she knew that would irk Paul to no avail seeing as he was a huge neat freak, but after the day she's had, she honestly didn't give a shit.

She headed towards the kitchen and could hear the television on, one of the kids must have left it on because that was huge pet peeve of Paul's as well. She sat down at the counter and placed her head in her hands as she thought back to earlier today.

 _I know you, I know you._ Stephanie kept thinking to herself

"Paul Michael is just a master at what he does, the way he describes this beautiful young lady in the book with such detail, with such-"

"Shut up" Stephanie said as she quickly grabbed the remote and turned the tv off. "I've had enough of that for today"

"Hi Mommy" Murphy said as she walked into the kitchen with a cookie

"Hi sweetie" Stephanie said as she lowered herself and kissed her daughter on the forehead. When she pulled back and came eye to eye with the little girl, that's when it hit her, she always used to say to herself and to Paul that Murphy _"reminds me of someone"_ but she could never pinpoint who it was, and now she knew. It was Aurora, the girl in her class, they were an exact replica of one another, the only difference, Murphy had blonde hair and blue eyes and Aurora had brown hair and brown eyes. "wow" Stephanie said to herself

"What mommy?" Murphy asked innocently as she took another bite of her treat

"Nothing sweetie" Stephanie said as she ran her hand through her daughter's hair

"Okay" she said as she shrugged and continued to enjoy her cookie.

"Hey Steph, why is your stuff all over the floor? you know how I feel about that" Paul said as he entered the room

"Oooh, mommy's in trouble" Murphy said looking at her father and then back to her mother

"Sure is" Paul said as he lifted her up into his arms. "can I have a bite?"

"Nope, all mine" she said as she placed the last bit into her mouth "and now it's all gone"

"That was just evil, I should tickle you"

"No!" she said as she squirmed to get out of his grip and ran down the hall.

"sorry about the mess, I'll get it up"

"I already did" Paul said as he sat down next to her, he immediately noticed that something was off. "Hey, what's wrong? did something happen today?"

"No, i'm fine" she lied

"are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's…never mind" she said deciding to leave her thoughts to herself, after all she could just be imagining all of this, it could just be a coincidence and she's making a big deal out of nothing.

"You're absolutely sure?"

"Yes" she said forcing a smile "How was your day?" she said trying to change the subject, she could tell that Paul didn't believe her, but he knew not to pressure her into talking if she didn't want to.

"It went fine, had a lot of phone calls, people are dying to get this book on film, it hasn't even reach the four week mark yet" he said with a slight chuckle

"Well, it's a damn good book."

"You haven't even read it yet"

"I don't have to read it to know that it's good" She said smiling as she reached over and patted him on the shoulder.

"But babe, this one is like -"

Stephanie zoned Paul out as he began talking, it was no secret that she usually chose not to read any of Paul's books that had a storyline like this one. It already pained her having to know that all of his stories were based on a true story, his best selling books were the ones about their lives and no one knew it but them. But she especially could not read this one knowing that he was going to talk about and make her relive the painful experience they had to go through years ago when they were young and had to give their first born up for adoption. She was three years old, and beautiful, just stunning. She was the nicest and most funniest little girl that they had ever had the pleasure of knowing, her name was Aurora. But due to being so young and not having the funds to raise her while trying to make a living, and not having the most supportive parents, they had to do what they felt was right for her. Just because their lives was not the best thing at the time did not mean that they had to make her grow up in the same situations and living environments that they had to. It took years to get to where they are, having to stay with friends and family members, from couch to couch, living paycheck to paycheck, it was definitely no environment for a child, and they had to do what was right. It was hard on them, extremely hard, God knows they wanted to keep her but they just couldn't. The first year Paul and Stephanie were allowed visitation and were able to see there daughter. The next two years Stephanie kept up with her online due to the new family moving, then not too long after, her and Paul had to move to a place where he would have a stable job, she regrettably lost the contact information and hasn't seen her since…until now.

Paul finally got his break through when a professor at the local university down the street where they were living at the time agreed to publish his book online and it went viral, and they have been set ever since. Stephanie was finally able to go back to college and earn her degree and become a professor at an ivy league school while Paul continued writing. They never forgot the man that helped them, or the people who gave them a hand along the way, to say that none of these people no longer have any financial worries is an understatement, Paul and Stephanie help set them for life. But even with all of the success and money in the world, they could never fill that one void in their life and that was finding their daughter. They talked about it a few times in the beginning, but then the more they got busier the less they started to converse about it, they also did not want to make the other feel guilty by bringing it up as it was a sore spot so they just decided to avoid conversations on it all together. But the only way that Paul could ever cope with all of it was to write about it, every word had a meaning behind it, it was more than what people thought and if they ever found out, then they would know why. That's why Stephanie couldn't and would probably never read this book, she knew he would capture their emotions and everything so perfectly to the point of where she could not make it through the first chapter without crying. Hell, there were nights where she would walk down the hall to Paul's study and hear him sobbing as he wrote the pages to his book, she knew what finding their daughter meant to him and how emotional he was about it, that's why she decided to keep what happened today away from him, she didn't want to stress him out before his big conference tomorrow, and she definitely did want to get his hopes up incase this girl did not turn out to be her at all, but deep down in her heart, she knew…a mother always knows her child.

* * *

"So, by reading the chapter you should have come to the realization that-" Stephanie stopped talking as she heard footsteps hurrying down the steps, she did not even have to be facing the class to know who it was. "You're 15 minutes late Ms. McCullan" She said as she continued writing on the board.

"I know and i'm sorry, I-"

"Don't be sorry," Stephanie said cutting her off as she slowly turned around "be **on _time_** _,_ now please, find your seat"

Aurora nodded and tried to make her way through the row, dropping her books in the process

" _ **Quietly"**_ Stephanie said as she raised her brow and looked over the rim of her glasses

"I'm sorry"

"you know, if it weren't for Mr. Andrews" Stephanie said motioning towards the young man walking into the classroom "having to go to the restroom, you would not even be allowed in here, what does this make, the third time i've let you in here? i'm being more than nice"

"I know that, and again, I apologize."

Stephanie smirked. "What did I say earlier?'

"Umm" Aurroa said taking a minute to think "Don't…don't be sorry, be on time?"

"Yes," Stephanie said with a grin, "at least I know you listen" She said as she walked back towards the board "Would you like to take a picture of my notes before I pull down the screen?"

"Yes please" Aurora said as she quickly snapped a few photos from the board, when she was finished Stephanie pulled down the screen and turned on the projector.

"Let's begin, chapter 5 please" she said as she glanced up and watched Aurora take out her notebook and began to write viciously to catch up with the class. _There's a reason why you're getting special treatment._ Stephanie thought to herself as she took a deep breath and looked over at the screen.

* * *

"And don't forget to put your name at the top of your paper, there are too many of you for me to guess whose paper belongs to whom" Stephanie said as she watched her class dismiss.

"Just a month in and we already have a paper man" one guy said as he walked out talking to his friend

Stephanie was at the podium writing down some prep questions for her next class when she heard her name

"Dr. Levesque" a shaky voice said as it approached her, she immediately knew who it was.

"yes?" she answered without looking up

"Would you mind if I had a word with you in your office during your office hours today?"

"Not at all," she said as she continued writing "But **be. on. time.** " she said looking up

"Yes, ma'am" the girl said as she quickly scattered away.

"Dr. Levesque, I have a question about-"

"No Anthony, you cannot make up the quiz you missed on Monday"

"But-"

"Did someone in your family pass away?"

"N..no"

"Were you or anyone you know in a car crash on your way to class?"

"No"

"Did you have to perform open heart surgery before class?"

"No ma'am"

"Then as far as i'm concerned you have no valid excuse for missing my quiz"

"I know that, it's just…your quizzes scare me, the way you word the questions…I don't know, it's confusing"

"That's why you have my contact information, to ask me questions leading up to them"

"I know, but you're intimidating"

"I'm only intimidating to you because you never come to class and don't see how I operate, am I correct?"

"Y…yes" he said softly

Stephanie sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. "You have one day to study Anthony, one day and you better be in my office **on time** tomorrow to make it up, do you understand me?"

"Yes ma'am! thank you so much!" he said as he gave Stephanie a quick hug and hurried up the steps, she rolled her eyes and continued with her prep questions for the next class.

* * *

"Mommy loves you"

"I love you too"

"I'll see you at home, okay?"

"Okay" Brayden said as he said his goodbye and hung up the phone.

 _ ***Knock! knock! knock!***_

"Come in" Stephanie said not looking up from her computer

"Dr. Levesque?"

"Yes?" she said still not looking up from her computer

"May I sit down?"

"You may" Stephanie said as she continued typing "are you going to just sit there or are you going to ask me something?" Stephanie said as she continued typing after she realized that the two had been sitting in silence for well over three minutes with nothing but the pecking of the keyboard being echoed though out the room.

"I…Ummm…well"

"Spit it out" Stephanie said as she continued typing

"W…why don't you like me?"

Stephanie stopped dead in her tracks and looked over at the girl, she could sense the fear in her as she sat there, almost shaking. She was fidgeting with her fingers and twirling her hair with her finger and then fidgeting again. _I do the same thing when i'm nervous._ Stephanie thought to herself before she looked at the girl and smiled. "And what makes you think I don't like you?…Aurora."

* * *

 **Leave reviews :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"I mean, just the way you treat me for starters"

"and tell me" Stephanie said as she placed her laptop screen down and entwined her fingers together on top of it as she slowly leaned forward. " _how_ do I treat you?"

"Well, for the past month you've been kind of…"

"Kind of what?"

"Well…mean"

"Wrong"

"I'm sorry?"

"You're wrong"

"how so?"

"what you call mean is what I call being direct, which if memory serves me right, I told you all about that on the first day" Stephanie said as she propped her elbows up on the desk and rested her chin in the center of her entwined hands.

"yes, yes you did" Aurora said nodding her head

"Then what is the problem here?" Stephanie asked, raising her brow in the process.

"You only seem to be _direct_ towards me"

"Wrong again"

"Okay, then how about…"

"How about the the numerous times I have allowed you to come into my classroom late when I specifically asked you not to be? how many times have I let you stay after class to take notes, how many times have I e-mailed you the study guides for the quizzes when you're supposed to pick them up from my office yourself, how many times have I-"

"I see your point, I get where you're coming from, and i'm very thankful for that, i'm just saying you tend to have sort of a…I dunno"

"Exactly, you **don't** know, because there is nothing to know. You feel as if i'm specifically picking on you when I am not, you only feel that way because you're the only one it's happening to, and you're the only one it's happening to because you do not do as you are told, am I correct?"

"But I had very valid excuses for why I have been late, I cannot help it if my car breaks down, of if the bus is late or-"

"Ms. McCullan, at the end of the day, excuses are still just that, excuses."

Aurora sighed. "I'm sorry"

Stephanie chuckled. "Pfft, children these days, you're the problem yet you act like the victim, I have done nothing but be helpful. What you consider me being mean Ms. McCullan is actually me being as nice as I can before I let the other side of me come out. Is there anything else that you would like to know?"

"Well" Aurora said looking down and then back at her "You have a tendency to ignore me when I am in class and when I do raise my hand and try to answer a question, you downplay what I said even when i'm correct"

"Wrong… _again_."

"How?"

"Just because I challenge what you say does not mean I am downplaying what you said, and you have actually been wrong on a few occasions"

"Well, you still ignore me"

"When I signed up for this job in no way did my contract list that I had to pay specific attention to you and only you Ms. McCullan"

"That doesn't take away from the fact that you do, you barely make eye contact with me or interact with me like you do the other students"

"Not true" Stephanie said as she opened her laptop

"See" Aurora said motioning towards her "you're not even paying attention now"

"Multitasking" Stephanie said as she began typing

Aurora sighed and sat back in the chair. "I knew coming in here would be a waste"

"If that's how you feel then you should leave" Stephanie said as she leaned back in her chair and folded her arms

"I will" Aurora said as she stood up

"Why do you need my attention so badly?" Stephanie questioned, she was curious to know.

"It's just I like you...and you…you…never mind"

"I what?"

Aurora let out a deep breath. "you just remind me of someone…that's all"

 _Your mother._

"Whom?"

"I don't know, just someone i've seen before, or _thought_ I've seen…whatever, it doesn't matter, I won't waste any more of your **_precious_** time" Aurora said as she went to leave but her book fell out of her backpack as she got up to walk away.

Stephanie looked down at the book that fell a few inches from her desk and then she looked up at Aurora "You like Paul Michael?"

Aurora turned around confused and then looked down and smiled. "Yes, I love his work, I've been reading his books for years" she said as she bent down and picked up the book titled _Her._ "His books have this personal affect on me, I sometimes feel as if the books relate to me. I was very fortunate to get to see him speak two years ago, and i'm going to his convention in Los Angeles this summer, i'm so excited."

 _Oh. My. God._ Stephanie thought to herself

"I take it that you read him as well?" Aurora asked

"I'm... _familiar_ with his work, yes"

"He's amazing, I can't wait to finally meet him in person, I'm saving up for v.i.p tickets, I just want a hug and an autograph from him, he has no idea how much he's changed my life, and his interviews, they're amazing, he's so funny and so down to earth. I bet he's a great father and husband, he rarely posts pictures of his wife or children, and when he does their backs are always turned to the camera, I wonder why he does that."

"Some people like to keep their lives private" Stephanie answered "You seem like his number one fan"

"I really am" Aurora said as she sat back down "I feel like I could talk to him for hours"

 _The feeling is mutual._

She took a minute and paused, knowing she could go on a fangirl rant about him for hours she decided she should go."Well, I don't want to hold you, I better get going" Aurora said as she stood up yet again "thank you for your time"

"You can thank me by being on time to class" Stephanie said with a half smile.

Aurora chuckled. "Gotcha" she said as she hurried out of the office. The moment she shut the door Stephanie collapsed on top of her desk and began to sob, this was just so unreal, she couldn't believe this, and for her daughter to be a fan of her own father's work…wow. But Aurora was right, Stephanie did treat her different but she didn't mean to, it's just she didn't know how to act when she was around her. Of course she would put on this tough facade like she did a minute ago, but deep down she was dying on the inside, dying knowing that this was her daughter and she had no idea in hell how she'd approach her about it, maybe she never would, but would that be fair? would it be fair to Paul knowing that he is writing his heart out in these books about his daughter and wanting to find her only for her to be in his wife's class and she not tell him about it? it would not only anger him beyond demand, but it would break his heart seeing as it could be his one and only chance. She just had to tell him, but when was the question, how do you time it perfectly to tell your husband something like this? it just couldn't be done, she was going to need a little more time, but lord knows she needed to do it before next month when Paul comes to speak to her class because she knows he would immediately know who she was, but what she didn't know was how he or Aurora would react.

* * *

"Ya know, i've noticed that ever since I told her I like reading Paul Michael, she's been…nicer to me." Aurora said as she closed her locker and headed towards the cafeteria with her friend.

Allie chuckled. "Maybe because that's her husband you idiot"

"He is not!" Aurora said as she placed her books down on the table and took a seat

"Is to" Allie said as she pulled out an apple from her backpack "What are you doing?" she asked as she took a bite

"Googling his wi…oh my god" Aurora said when she finally reached the bottom of the page, every other picture was of her back turned to the camera but there was this one of them at a book signing event, his first.

"I told you"

"OH MY GOD!" Aurora said standing up

"Aurora calm down, people are staring" Allie said as she punched her friend on the leg

"I'm sorry" she said fanning herself as she sat down

"Ya know" Allie said taking another bite "you kind of look like her to be honest"

"wow"

"I know, same thing I said when she walked into class on the first day, she could play like the grown up version of you in a movie or something."

"Not that you dummy, I can't believe she's his wife"

"Well believe it"

"Oh my god, I just, I just have so many things to ask her!"

Allie rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, please don't be **_that_** fan"

"Come on Allie! you know i've been dying to meet him!"

"And you think kissing her ass will allow you to?"

"No, but maybe she'll like bring him in to speak or something"

"I doubt that"

"she's been known to have guest speakers before"

"Yeah, but they're usually business people"

"But Aaron said she likes to shake things up a little bit, she had Chad Carter there last year, and Brittany Yates the semester before! come on, why wouldn't she have her husband? especially with the success of his new book"

"He's had successful books before"

"Yes, but this is the most successful one to date, well except for his first book, _The Day We Lost Her_ , oh my god I love that book"

"I know, you've read it at least 30 times"

"It's great"

"It's okay"

"you just can't relate because you weren't adopted"

"So I have to be adopted to relate to his stories?" she said taking another bite

"Well, they're usually about that"

"I prefer his other reads, like _Killer of the Night_ and _To Seek Vengeance_ "

"Those are okay, but the ones like this are the best"

"Thank god for opinions" Allie said as she sipped on her juice

"Whatever, i'm gonna go get a slice of pizza, want me to bring you back one?"

"sure, if they don't have pepperoni, just bring me cheese, I hate sausage."

"gotcha" Aurora said as she headed off to stand in line

* * *

"You all set for tomorrow?" Stephanie asked as she climbed into bed with her husband

"Yep" Paul said as he glanced over at his wife and smiled "anything I should know about these kids?"

 _Yeah, one in particular._ "Um, just be yourself" Stephanie said with a forced smile. Another month had passed and she still has not figured out a way to tell Paul about Aurora, she tried to come up with different ways but it was always the timing was not right or he was tired, or he was angry about something, or the kids needed something, she could never get it out, and even if she did find the perfect timing, she wouldn't know what or how to say it.

"I do that everyday" he said smiling "Do they know i'm coming?"

"No, my visitors are always a surprise"

"I'm sure i'll be the biggest one yet" he said reaching over and planting a kiss to her soft lips

"I don't know, Ellen might be pretty hard to top"

Paul laughed. "But she was on some Rock shit, via satellite, i'm going to be there in person, and you can't- beat- that" Paul said as he swung his arm from left to right on the last part.

"First of all, it's 'teach that' Brayden would be so disappointed in you"

"I should end my speech with 'bada boom, realest guy in the room, how you doin!?"

"Please…don't"

Paul laughed. "Fine, i'll leave the wrestling antics to the wrestlers"

"Thank you"

"Or I could walk into the class with this mean mug on my face and just spit water into the air"

"why…why would you do that?"

"I don't know" he said shrugging "just seems cool"

"You're weird" Stephanie said as she reached over to turn the light off but Paul grabbed her by the arm "Don't start"

"I wasn't trying to get any" he said with a chuckle "i'm just glad you wanted to have me as your speaker, it means a lot"

"Don't mention it, I couldn't get someone that was actually important"

"Oh, so you got jokes" Paul said as he rolled over on top of her and begin to tickle her sides

"Stooop!" She said as she struggled to get away from him

"take it back" he teased

"Fine! i'm sorry! you're great!"

"the greatest ever!"

"The greatest ever!" she repeated

"the king of kings!"

"The…i'm not saying that" she said as she started laughing which made him start laughing too.

"okay, maybe I went too far with that one" he said as he rolled back over to his side. "But thanks again babe"

"you're welcome" she said as she turned off the light and cuddled into his arms.

"I just have a really good feeling about tomorrow ya know?" he said as his thumb gently stroked her back "like it's going to be special or something" he said planting a small kiss into her hair.

"Why?" Stephanie asked softly she asked as she allowed her finger to trace across his chest

"I don't know, I usually only get these when i'm about to do a big conference and meet some fans, but I have that same feeling now, i'm excited"

"That's great, honey" Stephanie said softly

"Are you okay?" Paul asked

"Yeah, i'm fine" she lied "just a little tired"

"You know if there's anything you want to tell me or talk to me about you can"

"Pa…there's…nothing"

"what?"

"Nothing, i'm just tired, I love you, goodnight" she said as she reached up and gave him a quick peck on the lips before removing herself from his embrace and rolling over on her side.

Paul said nothing as he just stared in her direction, something was up with her, she's been acting weird for the last few months now, all he wanted to know was why?

* * *

The class erupted with laughter as Stephanie looked at her husband and smiled.

"I'm serious guys, I was right there and then-" Paul was cut off by the sound of the door closing and a young lady slowly walking down the steps with her head held down.

 _She's going to yell at me, I just know it._ She thought to herself

"Ms. McCullan, how nice of you to join us" Stephanie said as she stared at her

"I'm sorry i'm late I…oh….my…god…" Aurora said as she almost dropped her books. "oh my god! it's you! it's you! it's Paul Mi…oh my god!"

Allie rolled her eyes as she looked on at her friend as the other classmates laughed at her fangirling.

Paul smiled and chuckled. "Yes, and you are late I see" he said motioning to her with his hand. He was sitting on a table with one leg propped up and the other hanging down, he had one arm resting comfortably on the leg that was propped up with his chin resting in his hand. He had his hair tied back in a ponytail and wore a black short sleeve shirt that showed off his muscles and faded jeans and dark black chelsea boots.

"As usual" Stephanie chimed in. Deep down she was jumping for joy, her family was reunited... in some…weird…sort of way.

"I'm so sorry I just…oh my god, it's Paul Michael!" Aurora said again in disbelief

Paul chuckled again. "I take it you're a fan?"

"Yes! huge, I mean i've read all of your books I…I…oh my god"

"Take your seat Aurora" Stephanie said sternly

 _Aurora?_ Paul thought to himself as he furrowed his brows and looked at his wife and then back at the girl, he'd be lying if he didn't admit they were a spitting image of one another. He knew she looked familiar the moment she lifted her head up, but she was moving so much when she saw him it was hard to get a good look at her until now.

"Yes ma'am i'm sorry" Aurora said as she quickly took her seat next to Allie and stared at Paul in awe, who was staring back at her, kind of the same way Stephanie did on the first day of class but not as obvious. He quickly turned his head and looked at Stephanie whose smile soon faded.

 _Oh my god…he knows._


	4. Chapter 4

"Thanks"

"No, thank you for being a fan" Paul said as he signed another book and watched the student leave, the only people in the room now was him, Stephanie and another student.

"umm..Hi"

Paul looked up and smiled, it was her alright, he knew it immediately, she was so beautiful, he wanted to cry. "Hi" he said softly "I see you've calmed down" he teased

She offered a shy smile. "Yeah...I um, I wanted to be the last in line because I…I…I just wanted to thank you, your books…they mean a great deal to me"

"I'm glad you enjoy them"

"Um…here" she said holding her head down as she awkwardly handed him 6 of her favorite books

"Wow" he said looking at the title of them.

 _The Day We Lost Her_

 _Life Going Forward_

 _She's Always on My Mind_

 _I'll Never Stop Searching_

 _I Know You're Out There_

and of course _Her._ "You really love this particular series don't you?"

"It's my favorite" she answered shyly as she slowly lifted her head

"Mine too" he said looking up at her.

"Any reason why you wrote them?"

Paul paused for a brief moment before looking at her. He wanted to answer honestly but decided against it. "Just something that came to my mind is all" he said looking at her "any reason why they're your favorite?"

She shrugged. "I can relate"

Paul nodded. "It's good to find a book to relate to, isn't it?"

"yes" she agreed as she nodded her head

"Here you go" he said handing her back the books, he watched as she stuffed them into her backpack and looked back at him and smiled.

"So, what sort of teacher is she?" Paul said as he nodded his head over at his wife who had remained quiet the rest of the class period ever since she became aware that he knew. She was standing a few inches away leaning back against the table. "Because I've heard some things" he joked. Stephanie remained silent with her arms folded as she continued to stare at the ground.

"She's great…she's given me more opportunities than I deserved"

"Oh really?" he said looking at Stephanie again "I wonder why's that" he said not taking his eyes off of his wife who refused to make eye contact with him

"I do too" Aurora said letting out a nervous chuckle "But i'm not complaining"

Paul turned his head back towards Aurora and laughed. "I don't blame you"

"May I ask you a question"

"You may ask me anything you like"

"Why do you go by Paul Michael instead of your last name? I mean i've read about it before but i'd prefer to hear it in person"

"Well" he said letting out deep breath as he straightened up his posture on the table. "At the time, where I was working years ago, there were three Paul's, Paul Levesque, being me of course, Paul Levvey, and Paul Levmal, since we already had the same first name and our last names were so similar, we needed a way to distinguish ourselves, mainly for our boss. So he began calling us by our middle names, I don't like the name Michael by itself, and the other two threw a hissy fit about him calling me Paul every now and then so I just requested he call me by my first and middle name, it just stuck and I had been called that for so long I decided, what the heck, why not use it for my writing?"

"I like it"

"Thank you"

"Another?"

"Yes, why in all of your family photos, everyone has their back turned towards the camera?"

"Well our children are young and we want them to enjoy as much of their childhood as they possibly can, and with fame comes a lot of unwanted visitors and we would just like to protect them as much as possible. It also makes it really easy to transport them from place to place with the help of family and friends because no one knows who they are. Of course there are a few photos out there, but they're either very old, or blurry, so that helps a lot."

"That's good"

"we also want their friends to be their friends because of who they are, not their parents"

Aurora smiled.

"Let me ask you a question"

"yes?"

"How old are you?"

"I'm 16, just had a birthday actually"

"wow" Paul said, not because he was surprised, just because it had been 13 years since he last saw his little girl

"But i'm with the honors program and I skipped a grade"

"Amazing, and happy birthday"

"Thank you, you gave me the greatest gift ever" she said looking down at her autographed books that rested in the bottom of her backpack.

"How about I do you one better" he said as he reached into his pocket "tickets to my conference in two weeks"

"Oh my god! really?"

"Yeah"

"I wanted to go so bad but couldn't afford the tickets, I was bummed because i've been saving up for months and came up a little short"

"keep your money, i'll get you there too" Paul said smiling

"oh my god! this can't be happening!"

"It is" he said as he smiled at his child

"oh my god! thank you! thank you so much" Aurora as she closed the short distance between them and hugged him without hesitation. At first Paul was taken aback but it only lasted a brief second before he wrapped his arms around her and held her in his arms. Stephanie watched on, she had to admit it was the most beautiful thing in the world, she was holding on to him for dear life because to her, he was her hero, and he was holding because he never wanted to let go and she'd never know why. She wanted so badly to join them, but they deserved this moment, they deserved it so much.

"I want you to keep up the good work, keep doing what you're doing" Paul said as he rubbed her on the back "never let anyone tell you can't do or be something, never let anyone stop you from reaching your full potential." Paul said as he squeezed her a little tighter. "I believe in you Aurora, I really do"

"Thank you so much" she said as she laid her head on his chest, it was just instinct, it just felt so right, and she felt so comfortable in his embrace, this moment was everything to her, and to him too, she just didn't know it.

"No, thank you" he said when they finally pulled back, he couldn't resist the urge to push away the few strands of hair that had fallen in her face. He looked into her eyes and could see his own, she might have been a spitting image of her mother but she had some of his features. He wanted nothing more but to hold her again, just to pick her up and spin her around, to tell her that he loved her, but he knew he couldn't…at least not now.

"I would love to stay but I don't want to be late to my next class" she said as she walked over and picked up her backpack

"I wish you had that same attitude about my class" Stephanie teased as she finally spoke for the first time.

"I do" Aurora said with a smile as she walked over and hugged Stephanie, this shocked Stephanie, she didn't expect it, but she had no time to react because as quickly as it happened, Aurora pulled away. "I'll see you next week Dr. Levesque, and I'll see you at the conference"

"I look forward to it" he said smiling as he watched her walk up the stairs and shut the door.

"Paul" Stephanie started to say before he cut her off

" **save it** " he said holding up his hand "just fucking save it" he repeated as he gathered his things and stormed up the steps, slamming the door in the process.

* * *

"Will you please talk to me" Stephanie begged "I didn't know how to tell you alright!?"

"What do you mean you didn't know how to tell me!? It seems pretty fucking simple to me!" Paul snapped as he turned around, this was the first time in a week that he had actually spoken to Stephanie, at least in a complete sentence.

"I was still trying to figure things out alright, it was a shock to me too!"

"you mean to tell me" Paul said as he began to choke up. "That my baby was in that class this entire time…and…and you couldn't think of a way to fucking tell me!?" he said as he angrily wiped away a tear. "You knew how much this would mean to me Steph, you knew!"

"You're not the only one in this! okay! she's my baby too!"

"BUT **YOU** GOT TO SEE HER! **I DIDN'T**!" he shouted angrily

"Mommy, daddy" an innocent voice said as it appeared out of nowhere "what's going on?" Murphy asked as she walked into the room rubbing her eyes, obviously still very sleepy.

"Nothing baby, it's okay" Stephanie said as she walked over toward her and kissed her head "go back to bed okay"

"I heard yelling, are you and daddy fighting?"

"We're fine sweetie, just go back to bed, please" Stephanie said as she gently ran her hand through her hair

"but-"

" _ **what**_ did your mother say?" Paul said with a little bass in his voice which made her tear up a little. "I'm sorry baby" Paul said as he walked over and scooped his daughter up in his arms. "daddy didn't mean to get loud with you"

She nodded her head and laid it on his chest as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Will you put me back to sleep daddy?"

"Of course I will" he said as he kissed her on the head "at least this is one situation I have a say in" Paul said as he glared at his wife and headed down the hall with their daughter.

* * *

"Come in" Stephanie said as she looked up from her computer

"Hi"

"Hello" she said with a smile

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes" Stephanie said as she pulled out a piece of paper "You didn't do so well on your exam, or the quiz last week"

Aurora held her head down and chewed on her bottom lip. "I know"

"What's wrong? i'm not used to seeing these type of grades from you"

"a lot has been happening at home, that's all"

"Is everything okay?" Stephanie asked as she closed her laptop and leaned forward, a look of concern on her face.

"It's just my parents aren't in the best place right now"

 _Who are you telling?_ "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Can I retake it?"

"You know I can't allow that Aurora"

She nodded. "Worth a shot right?" she said as she stood up

"where are you going?" Stephanie asked softly "Sit" she said motioning to the chair "let's talk"

"About what?" Aurora asked curiously as she sat back down

Stephanie pursed her lips as she lifted her hands and shrugged "Anything " she said with a smile as she clasped her hands together.

"Um, okay." Aurora said as she leaned back in her chair "Well, I love to read, you know about that and you clearly know who my favorite author is" she said with a smile, one that Stephanie gave right back. "My favorite color is blue, I want to go zip lining one day, I once read somewhere that if you're out camping and see a bear that you should-"

Stephanie smiled as she sat there in front of her daughter and listened to her go on and on about her favorite things and her likes and dislikes, and adventures and any thing else that Aurora could come up with. She could literally just sit here for days and listen to her speak, in a way it was allowing her to catch up on all the times she missed, let her relive the moments that she could have spent with her, allow her to get to know her on another level. These were all the sorts of things she was going to have to learn if she was ever going to get the courage to tell Aurora who she really was, but until then, she was just going to sit back and relax and enjoy this quality time with her daughter.

"So then we ran into a skunk, you can only imagine how that turned out, but I told my friend Allie…am I talking too much? you're kind of just sitting there saying nothing."

"You're fine, absolutely fine, you can talk as long as you want, all I want to do is listen"

Aurora smiled bright and sat up straight. "okay, so you have to hear about the time I found a raccoon in my gym bag, it wasn't dead or anything, but don't ask how he got there, he just did. So I was about to change clothes right-"

Stephanie chuckled as she sat back and listened to her daughter speak, she was going to enjoy every second of this because God knows every little moment counted.

* * *

You know what to do **_*wink* *wink*_**


	5. Chapter 5

Don't expect much from this chapter, it's just to help me get to the others….so yeah…you've waited for nothing…my bad.

* * *

Stephanie chuckled lightly as she removed a few strands of hair from out of her face.

"So then what?"

"Are you even ready for that?" Aurora teased

"Well based on everything you've just told me, why shouldn't I be?"

Aurora smiled and sat up straight in the chair. "Well," she started to answer before Stephanie's cellphone started to ring.

"One second" Stephanie said as she looked down and smiled at the caller ID. It was obviously one of the kids calling from home. She picked up the phone and answered. "Hello?"

"Hello"

Stephanie smiled as she noticed the tone of voice change. "And who am I speaking with?"

"The ruler of the universe"

"And me!" Another voice said from behind

"And to what do I owe the honor to be speaking with you Mr. Ruler of the universe? And who is your friend?"

"I am the queen of the universe!" The other voice answered

"Oh my" Stephanie said as she placed her hand on her chest "I am speaking to _**both**_ the king _and_ queen of the universe?"

"Yes" they answered in unison.

Aurora furrowed her brows but as she continued to listen to the conversation, she figured out that Stephanie had to be speaking to her children. She watched on as Stephanie would laugh and play along, she even put the phone on speaker at one point. Aurora could tell that Stephanie absolutely loved her children, she longed for a family dynamic such as this. She could only imagine how Paul was, he was probably the most incredible father in the world, and it didn't take long to figure out because just as fast as she had thought about it, he was on the phone as well, playing right along.

"Well, I hate to be ending this call, but I do have company, say hi"

"Hiiiii" the kids and Paul replied in unison. Aurora smiled and said hello back to them.

"Hey" she whispered to Stephanie "don't let me keep you, I'll just see you in class tomorrow"

"You're fine" Stephanie said as she waved her hand downward and she stood up "I'll see them at home

"No it's okay, I really must get going" Aurora said as she grabbed her backpack and stood up

"Okay" Stephanie said as she motioned for Aurora to come behind the desk. Once Aurora was in her range Stephanie reached over and gave her a small hug with her free arm and patted her on the back. "See you later"

"bye" Aurora said with a smile as she walked out of the door

* * *

"Okay class, that is all that I have for you today so you'll be getting out early"

"YEAH!" one guy yelled from the back which made everyone including Stephanie laugh.

"Oh i'm not _that_ hard" she pouted before smiling at him.

"Dr. Levesque"

"Yes Veronica?"

"Will sections nine through twelve also be on the test?"

"Yes" She answered as she watched the students begin to pack up. "And don't forget to check your e-mails tonight, i'll be sending a study guide." She said as the students nodded. "Alright guys, have a great weekend and hasta la next time" Stephanie said as she briefly waved her hand at the leaving students and grabbed her briefcase.

As Stephanie walked over to her car, she couldn't help but glance out the side of her eye when she thought she spotted Aurora, she turned around completely to face that direction and she was right, there she was waiting by the bus stop. It was a little cold out today and Stephanie did not like the thought of her child having to wait for the bus in the cold, and then having to ride it to whatever destination it was taking her, she was about to yell out her name so she could give her a ride but someone else called hers.

"Dr. Levesque"

"Yes?" Stephanie said as she turned around

"May I speak to you for a brief moment?"

"Briefly, yes, it's a little cold out today"

"Yes ma'am i'll be quick, so what I wanted to tell you is that I will not be in class during the time we take our test because I-"

Stephanie zoned his voice out as she briefly looked behind her to see if Aurora was still there, and she was, this time she was pacing back and forth and rubbing her hands up and down the sleeves of her small jacket. Stephanie wanted nothing more than to walk over and hug her and offer her a warm ride home.

"So I was wondering if I could take it earlier….Dr. Levesque?"

"huh?" Stephanie said as she snapped back into reality.

"the test…"

"what about it?"

"can I take it early?"

Stephanie furrowed her brows and was about to ask why but she didn't want to remind the boy that she was already not listening to him the first time as he could clearly see that. "Um, yeah." she said shaking her head to clear her thought "Just umm, send me an e-mail the night before reminding me about it so I can have it ready for you in my office"

"Thank you" he said as he jogged off

"No, thank you for getting away from me" she muttered to herself, she turned around and was hoping to see Aurora, but by the time she did she was stepping

* * *

"So, who wants chicken for dinner?" Stephanie asked as she walked into the kitchen, placing her briefcase down on one of the stools.

"I do!" Brayden said as he raised his hand

"I want cereal"

"Murphy you can't have cereal for dinner" Stephanie said as she walked over and planted a kiss on the foreheads of her children before heading over to the fridge.

"Daddy lets me have cereal" she said softly as she looked up from her book and leaned against the back of the stool

"What are you trying to get me in trouble for now?" Paul said as he walked up behind the stool and lifted Murphy in the air. "huh, what?"

She giggled as she squirmed to get away, but of course she was no match for her father as he turned her around to face him and threw her up in the air.

"Paul" Stephanie said as calmly as possible, she absolutely hated it whenever he threw the kids up, it reminded her of the time right before they had to give Aurora away, they were on the bed playing and he tossed her in the air, he slipped and barely caught her in time, it scared the living day lights out of Stephanie to say the least and he caught flack for it everyday after.

"Don't worry about what i'm doing" he said in a cold enough tone for Stephanie to pick up on but not the kids. "You want moooore?" he asked as he lowered her to the ground and leaned forward so he was in her face.

"No!" she said as she kicked her feet, they were only a few inches above the ground and before she knew it she was back in the air again.

"Well you don't get to make that decision, I do!" he said as he caught her once she came back down laughing. "I love you"

"I love you too" She said as she reached up and kissed her father on the cheek

"Do you want chicken for dinner?" Stephanie asked as she placed her hands on the counter top

"I've already had dinner"

Stephanie's lips parted slightly as she titled her head to the side. "Really Paul, that's what we're doing now, skipping family dinners?"

He put Murphy back on the swivel stool and kissed her temple. "I've already told the kids" he said as he reached in between his kids and grabbed an apple. "You know, because it's _important_ to inform people of things so they're not left blindsided in the end." he said as he took a bite.

Stephanie rolled her eyes at the tone he used, he was being a complete ass, she understood his anger but he did not have to be this rude, at least not all the time, when was it ever going to stop?

"Do whatever you want Paul" she said as she rolled her eyes

"Like you?" he questioned

"are you guys fighting?" Brayden asked, he had sat quietly and observed everything from the moment Paul walked in, he picked up on his tone from the start even though he pretended like he hadn't.

"No sweetie" Stephanie said as she reached over and ruffled his hair a bit "we're fine"

"You don't sound fine"

"We _**are**_ " Paul said quickly but stern enough that it let Brayden know to drop the subject. "Enjoy your dinner, i'll be back home in an hour" Paul said as he walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

"So" Stephanie said as she sat with folded arms and looked over at the time on her phone, he was late, so late that he didn't come back home in time to put the kids to bed. "Am I to expect this to become the first of many?" Paul ignored her as he walked into the room and removed his shirt, he went straight from the dresser and pulled out some clean pajamas. "Paul"

"I don't answer to you" he said as he looked over his shoulder at her before looking back to close the drawer, he walked into the bathroom and it was not long before Stephanie heard the shower turn on. Not to be outdone, and definitely not to be disrespected, she removed the covers and got up and walked into the bathroom. She walked up to the glass shower and stared a hole through him with her eyes. "what?" he said, clearly annoyed.

"I am **_not_** to be disrespected in my own home"

Paul smirked. "Disrespect, it's funny that you can even use that term" he said as he placed his head under the water.

"I made a mistake, alright Paul? but damn, you don't have to treat me like this"

"So I should just forgive and forget?" he asked sarcastically as he reached over and grabbed the body wash.

Stephanie exhaled loudly. "Paul you weren't there, you weren't in my shoes you didn't know what it felt like, you didn't know how it felt to see your child for the first time and not be able to approach her about it, talk to her, hold her, console her."

"Well maybe I didn't know because you didn't fucking tell me, ever thought about that?" he snapped as he looked at her with piercing eyes.

"Because I didn't know how! how many times do I have to tell you that!" Stephanie said throwing her arms up in the air

"UNTIL I FUCKING UNDERSTAND IT!" he roared as he pointed to himself "because obviously I don't and I never will" he said as he angrily rinsed away the soap from his body.

"Paul" Stephanie said softly as she watched him turn the water off and grab his towel, she went to touch his arm when he opened the door but he moved his arm away from her.

"Just leave me alone" he said as he grabbed his clothes

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not sleeping in here" he said as he walked out, slamming the door in the process.

Stephanie sighed as she slowly slid down the wet shower door and onto the floor, she rested her elbows on her legs and placed her head into her hands and tried to figure out what she could possibly do next and going forward to make all of this better, she just wished she had the answer because she was on the verge of tears and knew that if she didn't find a solution to this situation, Aurora would no longer be the only thing she had lost.

* * *

Once again, my bad for not updating this story, the next two chapters are already written, but because I decided to write and upload this one instead of what will be chapter 6 that was originally five, I now have to go in those other two and tweak some things so everything will match up. And if it's still not right, I might have to add another chapter like this one just to give the story some space and time to grow, I just didn't want too much drama (with Aurora at least) too early on.


	6. Chapter 6

"Aurora!" Paul said with a huge smile on his face as he embraced her "how are you?"

"I'm good, how about you?"

"Doing just fine"

"Your speech was amazing" she said as she pulled away

"Thank you, i'm glad you enjoyed it"

"Had you not gotten me these tickets I wouldn't have been able to experience this" she said looking around the conference room, it was huge.

"Where's your friend? I saw you walk in with someone"

"She went to the restroom"

"So, how's school?" Paul asked as he took a seat, trying to get a conversation started with his daughter.

"It's fine, I mean I did pretty bad on Dr. Levesque's last exam though"

Paul furrowed his brows. "Oh really, what happened?"

"Just some stuff happening at home that has been distracting me"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really, this is a good day and I don't want to ruin it with negativity"

"Well if you ever want to talk" Paul said as he pulled out a card from his wallet and wrote something on the back "here's my personal phone number, call or text, day or night, I don't care"

"Oh my god" Aurora said taking it "Really?"

"Really" he said nodding "I know I haven't known you all that long but you have a very special place in my heart, more than you'll ever know"

"Thank you so much" she said as she reached over and hugged him

"Oh come on Aurora, let the man breathe" Allie said as she walked over and sat down

Paul chuckled. "She's fine, she's fine" he said as Aurora pulled back and sat next to her friend

"He gave me his cell" she whispered, even though Paul could clearly hear her, he thought it was adorable how much she fangirled around him

"What?" Allie said taking the card and looking at it "why would you do that? that's worse than Trump having nuclear codes"

Paul laughed. "I'm sure she won't be that bad"

"she will" Allie muttered as she shook her head and handed the card back to her friend.

* * *

"Heard Aurora's not doing too hot in your class" Paul said as he came in and tossed his bag on the floor

 _So you're speaking to me now?_ Stephanie thought to herself as she looked up from her book at him. "She told you that?"

"Yeah" he said as he removed his shirt

"Well it was just one test and a quiz, she can easily pull that up, she's a smart girl."

Paul sat down on edge of the bed and locked his hands together. "I gave her my number today"

This time Stephanie closed the book and put it on the nightstand "why would do th-"

"Because I want to have an actual relationship with her, alright Steph? i've missed out on 13 years and I don't plan on missing anymore, so i'm going to do whatever it takes to establish a strong foundation with my daughter okay?"

"Don't be an asshole Paul, I understand where you're coming from but she's my daughter too, don't just act like this is all you"

"We should have never gave her up" Paul said as he looked down and played with his wedding band

"We had no cho-"

"we had a choice, alright?" Paul said cutting her off as he glanced over his shoulder at her "and we chose to give her away." he said turning back to look down at his band.

"Paul we were living from couch to couch, living wherever someone would take us in, at one point we lived in our car for two months. Do you really think she needed to grow up in that environment? it would be a difference if we had the help from our parents that they all of a sudden want to give us now. We made a choice, no it wasn't the best but it was the right one at the moment. We only started to go wrong when we didn't look for her sooner." Stephanie said as she removed her glasses and placed them on the nightstand and wrapped her arms around herself.

"You're right" Paul said standing up and walking over to her side of the bed to sit down. "And i'm sorry, it's just, I hate learning all of these new things about her that I feel I should have already known"

"I know" Stephanie replied as she rubbed his arm "I felt the same way the other day when she was talking to me"

"She told you things?"

"yeah" Stephanie said nodding "remember that day you hung up on me? she was in my office, she told me all of her likes and dislikes, her favorite things to do, places to go, places to eat, all of that. She even jokes like you ya know" she said offering a warm smile. "I was going to share it with you, I just wanted us to be in a good place first"

"That's the problem, you always want to wait for the ' _perfect timing'_ , the timing will never be perfect babe"

"I know, but I at least wanted us on speaking terms again"

"You know I would have perked up at the mention of her name or anything having to do with her"

"I'm sorry"

"It's okay" Paul said as he leaned over and kissed his wife "And i'm sorry i've been so tough on you about this, it wasn't until I was in your spot today that I knew how you felt, and to be honest had I met her before you did, I wouldn't have known how to tell you either, and for that, I apologize for getting so angry"

"you're fine" Stephanie said as she ran her hand through his hair "I understood where you were coming from, i'm sure I would have reacted the same way if not worse."

Paul smiled. "How about we take her to lunch or something"

"you don't think she would find that weird?"

"I doubt it, from the way she reacts whenever you bring up her personal life, it seems as if she wants to get away from home"

"I just wish I knew what was going on"

"Me too"

"I swear if anyone is hurting my baby" Paul said clenching his fist

"Let's try not to think like that, in time we'll get her to come around and when we both feel it's right, we'll tell her, until then, let's just enjoy these precious moments we're spending with our baby girl."

"I couldn't agree more"

* * *

"Oh my god he wants me to come to dinner with him and Dr. Levesque!"

"Really?" Allie asked

"Yes!"

"Do you need a plus one?" she joked as she looked down at her homework

"No I do not" Aurora teased as she poked her tongue out at her friend "I still can't believe that all of this is happening"

"Me either, it's like something out of a movie" Allie said as she reached into the bag of hot cheetos and grabbed a few "surreal bro" she said popping them into her mouth

"What am I going to wear?" Aurora asked as she walked over to her closet

"Nothing too fancy I hope" Allie said as she pecked away at her calculator

Aurora spun around on her heel and gave her friend a 'are you serious' look. "Allie, this is the _Levesques_ we're talking about here"

"So?" Allie said not looking up

" _Soooo,_ that means they're big maintenance, okay? they only dine at the best of the best, it's not like they're taking me to McDonalds, if they even know what that is anymore" Aurora said as she looked inside the tiny closet to find something.

"AURORA! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Aurora rolled her eyes and then looked over at Allie who gave her a sympathetic look. "I'll be right back" she said as she ran downstairs "Yes?" she answered

"I thought I told you to wash these dishes?"

"I was going to after I finished my homew-"

"Fuck that, you do what I tell you to do when I tell you to do it, do you hear me?"

"Yes" Aurora said as she held her head down

"Now get!" he said shooing her away with his hand "your face is annoying me" the man said as he took a sip of his beer

Aurora stared a hole through him before she finally turned around and then bumped into a blonde haired woman. "Hi"

"Whatever" the woman said as she brushed past her.

Aurora just shook her head and kept going

"I swear if we didn't get a check for the little bi-" she could hear being said as she quickly hurried back up the steps.

"Do you want to spend the night with me?" Allie asked the moment Aurora entered the room

"It won't change anything" she said as she went back to her closet.

"You deserve bet-"

"Allie" Aurora said cutting her friend off "don't…just don't start tonight, okay?" she said as she turned around to look at her "i'm fine, and everything is going to be just fine"

Allie didn't believe her but she knows when to let such a touchy subject matter go, so she simply nodded her head and went back to doing her homework.

"Everything will be just fine" Aurora whispered to herself as she continued to look through her closet. "everything will be just fine…"

* * *

"You all set and ready to go?" Stephanie asked as she walked into the bedroom while putting on her earring

"Yep" Paul said as he stood up from the bed. "just nervous"

"I feel everything will go just fine, have you spoken to her?"

"She hasn't replied to any of my texts but I reminded her two days ago so i'm sure she knows what's up"

"Good" Stephanie said as she put in the other earring "she didn't show up for class today"

"Really?" Paul said furrowing his brow "I wonder why"

Stephanie shrugged. "I don't know, and her friend Allie wouldn't speak on it and I didn't want to come off too nosy"

"But that's our child"

"Yes, but they don't know that" Stephanie said as she walked over to the mirror. "Besides, i'm sure everything is fine, she probably just took a sick day or something"

"I sure hope so" Paul said as he sat back down on the bed, not long after that his phone beeped and he looked down at the screen. ' _Baby girl'_ flashed across the screen and he instantly perked up. "Speak of the devil"

"Well doesn't she have perfect timing" Stephanie said as she smiled and continued to play around with her hair

"She's…she's not coming"

"What?" Stephanie said turning around "What do you mean she's not coming"

"That's all she said" he said showing her the message "just that she's sorry it's short notice and that she can't come"

"Should we call her?"

"I want to" Paul said looking down at the message again for a moment

"Do it" Stephanie said as she sat next to him on the bed

"Alright" Paul said as he clicked on her number and put it on speaker

"H...hello?"

"Aurora, hey, how are you?" Paul said as he smiled and glanced over at his wife

"I'm um…i'm fine…listen, I'm sorry I can't make it tonight"

"Is there any reason why?" Stephanie asked "If you don't mind me asking of course"

"It's just…"

"AURORA! GET YOUR STUPID ASS DOWN HERE NOW! AND I MEAN IT!"

Paul and Stephanie both looked at one another and then at the phone, who the hell was that yelling at her like she was some animal?

Aurora let out a very shaky breath before speaking softly "I…I have to go, i'm sorry"

"Aurora wait" Paul said as he started to speak again but the other voice came roaring through the phone

"HEY! didn't you hear me!?"

"Yes…I…I was coming" Aurora said nervously

"JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU LI-"

"STOP!" Aurora yelled out at the other person "STOP!"

"Aurora, what's going on?" Paul asked as he stood up

"Nothing, everything's fine, I have to go, i'm so sorry I-" the phone clicked off

"what the fuck was that?" Paul asked as he looked at his wife

"I don't know" Stephanie said as she looked up at him and placed her hand on her chest before looking at the phone "and i'm not sure if I want to"

* * *

"Aurora McCullan" Stephanie said as she held up a paper, when she didn't get a response she looked up and saw that Aurora's seat was vacant, she briefly glanced at Allie who avoided eye contact with her at all cost. "Allie McGullan" Stephanie said as she held up her paper.

Allie slowly arose from her seat and made her way down the steps, her initial plan was just to grab her paper and then leave class, she didn't care if she was going to be marked absent, she just wanted to get out of there. "Thank you" she said as she grabbed her paper and went to turn around.

"I'll see you after class" Stephanie said as she picked up the next paper "Mr. Ryan, please sit down, i'm trying to hand out papers."

Allie silently cursed as she walked by up to her seat and awaited the end of class.

* * *

"Ms. McGullan" Stephanie said as the last student other than Allie made her exit out of the class

"Yes?" Allie responded shyly

"Come here" Stephanie said with her brow raised high and her arms folded

Allie got up slowly and walked down to Stephanie. "Yes?" she said not looking at her

" **Look** at me" Stephanie said with a little bass in her voice, Allie slowly lifted her head. "You know what I want to know, where is Aurora?"

"I…I can't give you that information"

"You're not the CIA and i'm not some random citizen asking you for top secret flies, where is my student? this is the second time she has missed class this week _without_ a valid excuse"

"she's just going through some things…that i'm **not** at liberty to share with you Dr. Levesque"

"You know if she misses another class period she automatically fails my course"

"Yes" Allie said softly "i'll talk to her" Allie said as she went to turn away but Stephanie gently grabbed her shoulder.

"You know you can tell me anything alright? if she needs help, i'm more than willing to-"

"I'll give her the message, thanks" Allie said cutting Stephanie off as she quickly headed up the steps and grabbed her backpack and rushed out the door.

Stephanie sighed deeply as she watched her go.

* * *

"You have to Aurora, if you don't you'll fail the course"

"Does it matter at this point?" Aurora asked as she looked at her friend "I might as well remove myself from the program, my grades aren't holding up anyway, it's only a matter of time before they drop me from the scholarship"

"This is ridiculous" Allie said standing up as she began pacing the room "you have to let someone know what's going on"

"You know"

"Someone who can actually _**do**_ something about it"

"Who Allie!?"

"Anybody, hell even Dr. Levesque has lent her help"

"I don't need anyone's _help_ , so just drop it okay?"

"So you plan to walk into class looking like that?"

"Do I have a choice?" Aurora said as went over to the mirror and let out a sigh "do I have a fucking choice?" she said to herself as she lowered her head.

* * *

Drop em!

Btw, I really gotta stop ending my chapters like that, in almost every story the characters always end up saying the same thing twice…force of habit lol.


	7. Chapter 7

"That adjourns today's class, are there any questions?" Stephanie asked as she scanned the room and saw a hand go up "No to whatever else you plan on asking me today Mr. Roberts" Stephanie said as she watched the hand slowly disappear and the class laughed as they started packing up to leave. "Ms. McCullan I shall see you in my office immediately" Stephanie said as she caught her quickly walking up the steps, Aurora briefly paused when she heard Stephanie call her and then continued up the steps. Stephanie glanced over at Allie who quickly turned her head to gather the rest of her things before leaving.

* * *

"Just continue to read the chapters and you'll do fine, you'll pull that up to an A in no time"

"Thank you Dr. Levesque"

"Anytime" she said as she watched the young boy leave out of her office, as he left the door open behind him, she could see Aurora waiting outside her door in a chair with her head down. "come in Aurora" Stephanie said as she watched her slowly get up and walk into the office, she walked with a limp and once she sat down she didn't bother to look up, something Stephanie noticed all class period. "Is there a reason why you have missed so many of my classes?"

Aurora remained silent, she lifted her arms to pull her blue cap down in front of her face further and continued to sit in silence.

"Aurora, you know if there's anything going on with you…i'm more than willing to help."

"Thanks" she said softly "but I don't need it…can I go now?"

"Look at me" Stephanie said as she waited a moment before speaking again "did you not hear me?" she said as she got up and walked over to her, "I said **look** at me Aurora" When she did not comply, Stephanie removed the hat from her head and lifted her head up by her chin, she instantly jumped back when she saw her face.

"It's not that big of a deal, so don't panic"

"Don't panic! look at your _face!_ " Stephanie said as she walked over and closed the door and then walked back over to Aurora, she kneeled down so that she was eye level with her. "What happened to you?" Stephanie asked as she cupped her daughter's face in his hands

"Why do _**you** _ care?" Aurora said as she shook her head free from her hands

Her tone of voice caught Stephanie off guard, but she decided to ignore it. " ** _What_ _happened?_** " she asked sternly

"I just got into a little scuffle that's all"

" _This_ " she said cupping Aurora face again "Doesn't look like a little scuffle to me"

Aurora moved her head back away from Stephanie's hand and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, can I go?"

"No" Stephanie said standing up and folding her arms "Not until you tell me what ha-"

"You're not my mother okay! you can't demand me to tell you things, who do you think you are?" Aurora said as she stood up "I'm leaving"

" **No,** you're not"

" _ **Yes**_ , I am" Aurora said heading towards the door "besides, why do you care anyway?" She said as she placed her hand on the door knob

"Because i'm your mo-" she said catching herself "If you leave…"

"What?" Aurora said spinning around on her heel "you're going to drop me from your class? go ahead, I won't be with the program much longer anyway"

"Aurora wait" Stephanie said as she grabbed her arm but Aurora flinched. "That hurt you?" Stephanie asked, without waiting for a response she slowly lifted up the sleeve on Aurora's jacket and covered her mouth when she saw the bruises. "A…Aurora" she said softly

"I'm fine" Aurora said snatching out of her grip "would you leave me alone, **_please?_** "

"I just want to he-"

"I DON'T WANT OR NEED YOUR HELP!" Aurora roared as she turned around and left the office, slamming the door in the process.

Stephanie opened the door to call back but she was interrupted

"Well I want your help" a voice said from outside the office

Stephanie sighed and rolled her eyes as she turned around and headed towards her desk. "Come on in Mr. Roberts"

* * *

 _What do I do? do I tell him? of course not, he'd go crazy, but then again he'd be so pissed at me for hiding this from him. shit. shit. shit._ Stephanie thought to herself as Paul walked into the room. "Hey, you're home early"

"Yeah, today went by pretty fast" he said as he walked over and kissed his wife "how was class today, did Aurora show?" he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Yes" Stephanie said quickly

"That's good" he said nodding "I was beginning to worry, did she give any excuse to why she wasn't there?"

"I haven't had a chance to speak to her yet" Stephanie lied

Paul looked at her oddly. "Are you telling me the truth? because we've talked about this"

"I think…I think you should call her"

"Why?"

"Ju…just because alright?"

Paul said nothing as he walked over to the table and picked up his phone. "straight to voicemail"

Stephanie sighed and looked down.

"What's going on Stephanie?"

"I…I think Aurora's in trouble Paul"

"What sort of trouble?" he asked as he walked over to her with a huge look of concern on his face

Stephanie chewed on her bottom lip and fidgeted. "She…I…" she sighed again. "she was pretty banged up today"

"what?"

"Daddy, you want to race my new cars?" Brayden asked as he walked in holding them

"Not now Brayden"

"But you never have time to pl-"

"I said **not** **now** " Paul said looking at him

Brayden stared at his father and then briefly glanced down at his cars before throwing them to the floor. "Why do I even bother, you never have time for me" he said as he turned around and walked out of the room.

"Brayden" Stephanie called after him as she started to get up to go after him but Paul grabbed her arm.

"He will be fine, I will talk to him later, what do you mean banged up?"

"Tend to your son first" Stephanie said as she gave him 'the look'.

Paul sighed heavily and picked up the toys and headed towards Brayden's room, Stephanie was grateful that he went so easily, she needed this time alone to think.

"Quite a show you put on in there don't you think?" Paul asked as he walked into his son's room and placed the cars on the floor.

Brayden said nothing as he sat with his arms crossed.

"On a scale of one to ten, how angry are you with me?" Paul asked as he sat down on the floor indian style, looking up at his son who was sitting on the bed.

"100" he said looking down at his father

"Wow, 100? that's a lot, not even on the scale"

"Well, that's how angry I am" he said looking back at the wall

"What makes you feel like I never have time for you?"

"Because you don't, you always make time to play with Murphy but never with me."

"I'm sorry I made you feel left out, you know I love you right?"

"Yes" he answered softly

"And no matter what, you do know you'll always come first before any work that I have right?"

"well it doesn't feel like it"

"And i'm sorry, that's my fault" Paul said reaching his arms out towards his son "come here" Brayden reluctantly got up and sat down on the floor next to his dad who wrapped his arm around him. "I love you Brayden, you and your mom and your sisters mean the world to me, you guys will always be my number one"

"I only have one"

"huh?" Paul said as he looked down at him

"You said sisters, I only have one sister"

"Right" Paul said as he looked around the room realizing his slip up. "Well, do you forgive me?" he said looking down at his son "do I get one more chance?"

"Only if you race cars with me"

Paul smiled. "I can manage that" Paul said getting up "come on, it's time to get your butt whooped"

"Your butt is the one that will be whooped"

"Oooh, trash talker I see" Paul said grabbing the controls and the cars as him and Brayden headed downstairs.

* * *

"Dr. Levesque I-"

"you have all of five seconds to tell me what is going on with Aurora or I swear to God Allie"

"Okay, okay" Allie said holding up her hands

Stephanie backed away from her and motioned for her to have a seat as she walked over and sat at her desk, Allie followed close behind and sat down as well. "Start talking"

"Aurora's home life is... _complicated_ Dr. Levesque"

"How so?"

"she's going to hate me for this"

"I'm not going to let her know you told me"

"You don't have to, she'll just know"

"Keep going"

Allie sighed. "Well, Aurora was adopted when she was about 2 or 3 I think and up until she was about 12 she had a very good family with a great living environment, they loved her and she loved them"

"What happened?" Stephanie was glad to know that her daughter was being taken care of very well in the years that she missed, she always wondered what sort of family she'd end up with, now she wondered what happened to them.

"i'm not sure, all I know is when she was 12 she ended up in foster care, I never knew the reason why, she never told me, but at age 13 another family, her current, picked her up. For the first year everything was great, then everything just went down hill from there."

"Down hill how?"

"The male in the house is a drunk, and the woman couldn't care less about her, she never really gave me any background on them either, all I know is she needs to get away from them. She wishes she could go back to her old family, but she lost contact is all I know"

"Is she being abused Allie?"

"I think you know the answer to that"

"Oh my god" Stephanie said as she covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head "How can anyone do this to a child?" _My child._

"I told she should report it but she doesn't want to end back up in foster care, and my family would happily take her in if they knew what was going on but she refuses to let me tell anyone anything. All I know is she needs Cynthia back"

"Who's Cynthia?"

"Her current foster mother, she's the reason why the first year was so great, but then out of nowhere she just kinda vanished, said she was going away on business and that her sister and her husband would look after her…that's when everything went down hill, the moment they got involved." Allie saw the look of concern on Stephanie's face and immediately knew what she was thinking. " ** _Please_** Dr. Levesque" Allie said standing up "You can't tell Aurora you know, you can't tell anyone, _please, please_ i'm begging you **_please_** , she'll have my ass for this"

"Don't tell me what?" Aurora said as she entered the room. "What is this?" she asked as she walked up to the desk and motioned between them. Both Stephanie and Allie had a look of shock on their face as they looked at her, she was pissed and there was no doubt about it. "What is going on here?"

* * *

:)


	8. Chapter 8

**Quick question!** Is anyone even reading **More Than Words**? because if not, i'll just stop working on the update for it. No one ever comments on it and it just seems like no one cares, and if you don't, then that's one less story I have to write. If you haven't read it, check it out.

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"I said what's going on here?" Aurora asked as she crossed her arms

"We were discussing Allie's grades"

"Bull" Aurora said as she looked back at her friend and then at Stephanie

"Excuse me?"

"Why would she say 'you can't tell Aurora you know' if it's about grades?"

"Aurora…"Allie said softly

Aurora's eyes grew wide as she stared at her friend. "You didn't…please tell me you didn't…"

"Aurora" she repeated in the same tone of voice

"How could you!?"

"I had no choice! she was going to figure it all out eventually!"

"And you!" Aurora said pointing to Stephanie "why are you constantly in my business? are you trying to make my life harder than it already is?"

"Aurora" Stephanie said softly as she stood up from her chair "of course not, I want to help you more than anything" she said as she placed her hands on her desk

"Haven't I already told you that I don't want nor need your help?"

"Aurora, please" Stephanie said as she walked from behind her desk and towards Aurora

"Just stay away from me, both of you" Aurora said as she headed towards the door, stopping as she opened it. "Thanks for nothing Allie, some friend you are" she said as she slammed the door with all her power.

"I'm sorry" Stephanie said immediately as she looked down at Allie "I never meant to-"

"Just leave us alone! you've ruined everything! I hope you're happy, you got what you wanted!" Allie said as she quickly gathered her things and hurried out the door before Stephanie could say a word.

* * *

"Paul please"

"I know there is something you're not telling me Stephanie"

"Just give me a little more time, please"

"Time for what? what is so bad that you cannot possibly tell me right now?"

Stephanie sighed as she sat down on the edge of the bed and rested her face in the palms of her hands. "just give me time, please" she muttered.

"Steph-"

"Paul, _**please**_ "

He exhaled and shut his eyes for a moment before finally speaking. "Fine, but don't wait forever Stephanie, i'm serious"

"I know" she said aloud. _Something like this can't possible wait._ She thought to herself

* * *

"Aurora"

"Leave me alone Allie"

"I'm your best friend, you can't avoid me forever"

"Why shouldn't I?" Aurora said as she spun around on the heel of her foot. "After what you've done, give me one get reason why I shouldn't-"

"Aurora, listen" Allie said as she interrupted her friend "This is a very serious matter, it always has been, and as your best friend I am going to do all that I can in my power to help you, but I can't if you continue to pretend that everything is alright. You could barely walk the other week, do you honestly think a good friend would continue to let this happen? Who knows what could happen next! I know you're angry and you have every right to be, but I rather you be angry with me for doing the right thing then to let something happen to you for keeping something like this hidden."

"Allie I-"

"Aurora" Stephanie said as she walked up behind the girls

Aurora scoffed. "what?"

"She only wants to help Aurora" Allie said softly

"And I've already expressed _**one too many**_ times how I **don't** want _**or** _ need it"

"What is so bad about getting help from me Aurora, honestly?"

"I don't have to explain anything to you"

"You're right, you don't" Stephanie said nodding in agreement. "But I refuse to let whatever is happening to you, continue to happen, not while i'm aware of it"

"Just stay away"

"Aurora" Stephanie said as she gently grabbed Aurora by the arm, but she still flinched as if her arm was being squeezed. Stephanie looked down at her arm and then back up. "That shouldn't have hurt Aurora" She said as she slowly went to raise up Aurora's jacket.

"Get away from me" Aurora said as she snatched her arm away "and it did, get over it" she said as she walked past the two and headed towards her next class.

Stephanie exhaled as she watched her daughter walk down the hall.

"so what do we do now? she doesn't want to speak to either of us"

"I have absolutely no idea Allie, no idea at all."

* * *

"Just….just don't overreact when you see it, okay?"

"See what? you've been dodging that question all morning"

"Paul…just don't…just don't" Stephanie said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek and headed out the door.

Paul was confused, there was definitely something Stephanie was hiding from him about Aurora, he found it strange that she was not talking to Stephanie or her best friend anymore. Her tone of voice was also different when he called her to meet up, once she agreed he immediately told Stephanie and asked her to join but she kept on insisting not to which he found weird. Normally she'd be dying at the chance to be around her but now she was backing off, and when he kept asking her questions she would avoid all of them and kept saying he would have to see things for himself. If he was being honest, he did not like the feeling of that at all, what did he have to see? what was so bad that his own wife could not explain to him? all of this was making him nervous and hopefully he would get down to the bottom of things when he and Aurora meet later on for lunch.

* * *

"Hey you, how ya doing?" Paul asked with a huge smile as he stood up to hug Aurora, little did he know it took everything in her not to scream at his tight clutch, she was aching all over.

"I'm…i'm fine" she choked out

"You okay?" he asked, immediately concerned

"I'm fine" she repeated, more swiftly this time as she took her seat.

"it's warm out today" he said as he noticed she was wearing a sweater

"Cold by nature" she said unconvincingly

"hm" he exclaimed as he looked her up and down before grabbing his menu "have you ever been here before?"

"Nope, but I hear the food is amazing…do you always sit outside?"

"Stephanie and I usually eat inside, but it's so pretty and warm out today I thought this would be nicer…would you like to go in?"

"This is fine" she said as she tugged at the sweater sleeve a little bit. "How's work?"

"Great, school?"

"So-so"

"Hello, I am Tom and I will be your waiter, do you two know what you would like to….PAUL MICHAEL!"

 _Here we go._ Paul thought to himself. "Hello" he said with a very forced smiled

"Oh my god, dude! like dude! dude it's you dude!"

"yeah dude, it's me dude." Paul said with a grin as he heard Aurora chuckle

"My mom is like totally in love with you, my sister too, my dad hates you but it's okay. Man you write some good shit."

Paul chuckled. "Well thanks…I guess."

"Wow, can't believe i'm waiting for you today, dude I am totally going to go and see that movie about that new book you wrote"

"there…is…no….movie" Paul said, confused.

"I know, but come on, we know it will be, there always is and when it does i'll be front and center"

"Are you sure it's your mom and sister that are in love with me?" he joked

Tom let out a nervous chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "sorry"

"You're fine, we can take a picture or something if you want"

"No dude, you're totally going on my snap chat" he said as he pulled out his phone. "CAN YOU GUYS BELIEVE THIS!? IT'S FREAKING PAUL MICHAEL!" he said to the camera before turning it on Paul who waved and smiled.

"Hi all"

"PAUL IS ON MY FREAKING SNAPCHAT BRO!" he said as he started up another video. "Crap! I sent that to my friend instead of posting it to my story, we gotta do this again dude"

 _Oh lord, this is going to be a long day._ Paul thought to himself as he threw Aurora a look that screamed 'help me'. But all she did was laugh.

"Here" she said reaching for the phone "Let me take all the videos for you"

Tom's eye's lit up. " **All** of the videos?"

" _ALL_ of the videos you want" she teased as she looked over at him.

"You're gonna pay for this" he mouthed to her. He silently chuckled to himself as he realized she was just like him, he played these same sort of tricks on Stephanie all the time, it was nice to know that it ran in the family.

* * *

Aurora snorted as she leaned back against her chair.

"I'm serious!" Paul pleaded "no one ever believes me when I tell that story"

"Why should we?" she asked as she stopped her laughter to take a few sips of her beverage

Paul sat back in his chair and pouted. "You'll all see one day."

Aurora smiled as she leaned forward and placed her hands on the table, not realizing that her sleeve came down. "Thank you for today, I really enjoyed it, I needed it after all i've been through these last few weeks….with school and stuff ya know" she was quick to add "it can be very stressful"

"I understand, and I'm glad you….Aurora what's that?" he asked as he looked down at her swollen wrist. It was a dark shade of purple

"Oh, it's nothing" she said as she was quick to hide it

"that doesn't look like 'nothing'" Paul said as he eyed her suspiciously

"I'm just clumsy that's all" she said with a forced smile.

"Is there something I need to know?" he asked, his tone becoming incredibly serious

Aurora rolled her eyes. "As if you didn't already right?"

"what are you talking about?" He questioned as he furrowed his brows

"…So Stephanie hasn't told you?"

"Told me what?"

"Nothing" she said standing up and grabbing her bag "I have to go home now"

"Aurora" Paul said as he grabbed her shoulder

"OWWW!" she yelped as she jumped back

"…that…that hurt you?"

"ugh, you sound just like her" Aurora said as she tried to walk away but Paul stood in front of her

"There's something that neither one of you are telling me that I obviously need to know…and you're going to tell me… **now** "

Aurora didn't know what it was, but there was just something about the way he demanded she tell him that she felt that she had to. Normally she would tell people off by now, but with him it was different, almost parent like, the same with Stephanie, except he was much stricter.

"It's a long story…" she said softly

"get in the car, you can tell me on the way home"

"…home?"

"Yes, home"

* * *

"He should have been back by now, and he's not answering my calls, what the hell Paul?" Stephanie said aloud to herself, she was just about to head upstairs when she heard the car pull up in the driveway. She looked out the window and was confused when she saw Aurora walking beside Paul, he had his arm wrapped around her and it looked like he was telling her something, Stephanie could see that they both had been crying by the redness in their eyes, and it was confirmed once she opened the door.

"Still think hiding shit from me is cool?" he said as he let go of Aurora and walked in "Sit over there" he said pointing to the couch

Aurora gave Stephanie a quick glance before doing what Paul instructed.

"I wanted her to be the one to tell you Paul" Stephanie said as she shut the door and followed behind him

"God I hate the way you think sometimes" he said as he wiped his face with a paper towel. "certain shit just needs to be said Stephanie" he sighed as he looked down at the countertop and then over to his wife. "I'm sorry"

"It's okay" she said as she wiped away a tear. "I understand your frustration"

"what are we going to do?"

"I don't know, she wouldn't allow me to help"

"Well she doesn't have much of a choice now" Paul said as he took a deep breath. "She's not going back, I know that for fucking sure" he said as sniffled

"We just need to tell her Paul"

"do you think she's ready to hear that? she's already going through so much"

"At least she'd know who we really are and wouldn't constantly wonder why we're always so worried about her."

"I know" he said softly "it's just, how do we tell her?"

"I have no idea"

"Just say it" Both Paul and Stephanie turned around when they saw Aurora standing in the kitchen "say what it is that I need to know"

"Aurora go back in the living room" Paul instructed

"No, tell me whatever it is that you have to say"

" **Go** back in the living room **_now._** " Aurora stood there for a moment or two before turning around and heading back towards the living room. Paul exhaled once again and looked up at the ceiling. "Why is this so hard?"

"Why does she listen to him and not me?" Stephanie questioned softly to herself

"Because I don't give her a choice" Paul said bluntly

"I just never wanted her to feel as if I was trying to control her or something"

"You don't have a problem asserting your authority with Bray and Murphy"

"That's _different_ Paul…they _**know** _ i'm their mother"

"Are we going to be straight forward about this or slowly let it all out?"

"Let's just go with the flow of things, no need to have a plan because we have no idea how she'll react"

"True" Paul said nodding "well okay, let's do it" he said holding out his hand, Stephanie grabbed it and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"you ready?"

"as i'll ever be" he said as they walked into the living room. Aurora was curled up on the couch and did not hear them come in, when she finally noticed them she stood up.

"sit down baby" Stephanie said softly

"I want to stand"

"Aurora" Paul said giving her a stern look to which she immediately sat down

Stephanie sighed. "Aurora, there's a reason why we've been acting the way that we have, why we've wanted to get closer to you, why you've probably wondered why we've been in your business a lot lately. You didn't understand it then, but you will after tonight…Aurora, we have something very important to tell you."

"what?"

Stephanie took another deep breath before glancing over at Paul who nodded his head. "Aurora…we're your parents"

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Leave reviews guys, they honestly motivate me to write faster, when you guys say nothing I just take it as no one cares, and check out **More Than Words** :)


	9. Chap 9: The Truth

No your eyes are not deceiving you, yes I am updating lol. Happy thanksgiving!

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Aurora sat quietly for what seemed like an eternity, what Stephanie said felt like a ton of bricks came crashing onto her chest, she took a deep breath and blinked profusely before speaking. "excuse me? you're my what? is this some sort of sick joke because I don't think it's funny" she said standing up. "I already have enough going on and I don't have time for games"

"We're not joking, Aurora" Paul said as he let go of Stephanie's hand and took a step closer to Aurora. "This is you" he said as he pulled out a picture in his wallet. "With us" it was a picture of him, Stephanie and Aurora when when she was 3, they were at the amusement park and Stephanie had her arms wrapped around Paul's waist, and she was looking up at Aurora. Aurora was sitting on Paul's shoulders and had the biggest smile on her face, while Paul was giving a goofy open smile to the camera.

"That's…that's me?"

"Yes" Stephanie said softly. "It was…it was the day before we had to give you away, we used up every dime we had to make sure it was the best day of your life at that moment. There's a lot you don't understand and i'm sure you have tons of questions and we're more than willing to answer them. All I ask is for you not to judge us"

"Don't _judge_ you?" She said cutting her eyes at Stephanie.

"We never wanted to give you up, but it was for your own sake as your life depended on it. We-"

"why didn't you come for me earlier? why didn't you get me when you had the chance? why did you let me suffer?"

"There's a reason behind all of that baby, trust me, there is. Just have a seat and let us explain it all to you, feel free to interrupt whenever you want"

Aurora rubbed at her temples as she tried to digest everything. "I..I mean" she tried to speak but every time she went to open her mouth not much of anything came out. "You had time to write fucking books but not come and find me!?" she finally managed to get out.

Paul held his head down for a brief moment and then looked back at her.

"And don't give me some bullshit excuse, you have all the money in the world, you have all the resources, **you have everything**! there is **no** possible excuse as to why I have not been with you"

"Aur-"

"I mean do you know what my life has been like the last few years!? Do you realize the hell that I have been put through!? Thinking that I had no hope, wanting to take my life, wanting it to be over once and for all because I just knew there was no way out of this hell!? And to find out that this whole time you've been running around playing house with...with a brother and sister _I didn't even_ _know I had_?" She said as her voice cracked at the end.

Stephanie wiped away the tears that fell down her face, she couldn't believe the things she was hearing. Her own daughter wanting to take her life, God just the thought of that was killing her on the inside and made her feel even more guilty than she did before.

"And you" she said pointing towards Paul "this whole time you've been writing about finding me but not actually going out there and doing it"

"That was never my intention, it was just a way for me to cope with-"

"For **you** to cope!? At least you had that! I was going through a living hell while you thought some stupid books would- uggghh!" She said as she reached up and tugged at her hair a little. "This can't be my fucking life right now, it can't be" she said to herself as she paced back and forth with her hands on her hips. "And for _**two months** _ you _**knew**_ and **_never_** said a word! I sat in your _class_ , I sat in your _office_ and had _talks_ with you" she said as she begin to choke up more and turned her anger towards Stephanie. "You made me feel stupid with your smart ass remarks, you made me feel like I was less than the other students... _' **mom'** " _she said sarcastically and laced with a heavy venom. "Always picking on me for this and that when it really came down to the fact that you knew you were guilty for not telling me the truth"

Stephanie remained quiet as she listened to her daughter's hurtful words.

"And then you" she said turning towards Paul. "' _Call me, text me, day or night'"_ she said mockingly but let me leave out being your fucking father!" She shouted as she angrily wiped away the tears that rushed down her face without permission. " _You knew_ " she said her voice cracking like before. "You knew how I felt about you, how I looked up to you, **and** you!" She said pointing back to Stephanie. "I wanted to be just like you"

"Aurora" Stephanie said as she took a few steps towards her daughter.

"No" Aurora said backing up "get away from me, you didn't want to be close to me then, don't try it now"

"Aur-"

"YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE!"

Paul let out a shaky breath as he found himself wiping away tears of his own.

"I can't believe this!" Aurora said as she angrily hit the wall behind her, the pictures of her brother and sister shaking.

"I don't even know what to say" Paul said softly

"Well when you figure it out, write it down in your little book" Aurora said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes and looked up at the picture of her siblings. "This whole time I've been thinking I was alone, but I have a brother and sister and two parents who go out of their way to help others but not their own child" she chuckled "aah, life's a fucking trip" she said shaking her head as she continued to speak to herself out loud. "Oh you live in a little shack by the track Aurora, but your parents are living it up in a mansion built for the gods. You have no money to buy your favorite foods, but your parents dine on fancy cuisine that could pay someone's rent. Oh, it's okay Aurora, you can go another year without a new pair of sneakers, I mean after all, it's not like you knew your mom walked around in heels that could pay off someone's mortgage. Oh, don't worry Aurora, you can make it another **cold** winter without a new jacket, just add more layers of clothing underneath, it's not like you have a father that's banking _millions_ off of books and movies, because clearly he'd buy you something as simple as a jacket right?" She said as she slowly turned around to face her parents. "And to think I only met you because I ended up in your class and not because you were actively searching for me" Aurora exhaled as she stared at her parents, they looked distraught but she couldn't care less at this point, they deserved this, especially with all that she's been through on her own. "I wish I could have Cynthia back, at least she was a **_real_** mother"

"Aurora, that's enough" Paul said " I know you're angry and you have every right to be, but at the end of the day we're still your parents and-"

"And what!? Whatcha gonna do **_dad_ , **huh? Ground me? Are you even worthy of me calling you that? Because you sure as hell haven't been around enough to have that title."

"Aurora, there is absolutely nothing we can do or say to help make up for lost time, but we can start to heal, together...as a family."

"No, there's something you two can definitely do to make this all better"

"Anything baby, we'll do anything" Stephanie said placing her hands on Aurora's shoulders.

"You two can both leave me the hell alone, and stay out of my life like you have for the past 13 years" she said as she removed Stephanie's hands from around her. "And I'll be transferring out of your class as soon as I find an opening" she said as she turned around and grabbed her phone off the couch.

"Aurora, baby, please don't go, please" Paul pleaded

"I want nothing to do with you...like you wanted nothing to do with me"

"Aur-"

" I WAS BEATEN!...EVERYDAY! Everyday for an entire fucking year! For no reason! For no reason at all! Just for existing! Called names and slurs, told I was shit and would never amount to anything. Locked in closets for hours at a time, locked outside in the cold, laughed at and told 'that's why your parents don't love you, that's why you're here you dumb bitch'" Aurora said as she clenched her fists and could fell the tears swell up in her eyes. "And to this day it _**still**_ happens! Do you see this!?" She said yanking up her sleeve to show off the purple bruises that coated her arm like a tattoo. "And this!?" She said as she angrily wiped off her make up to reveal a black eye, it was still in the healing process. "Would you like to see more? Would you like to see the lashes on my back, too?"

"Au...Aurora..pl...please" Stephanie choked out, she felt like she was going to faint looking at the marks on her daughter, hearing her story.

"And you want to talk about _healing_?" she said making air quotations "Well I have a lot of healing to do already bro" she said covering up the bruises. "And I've done it on my own before and I'll continue to do so" she said as she tried to walk past them but Paul gently grabbed her arm. "If you love me and have any sort of decent bone in your body, you'll let me go and never speak to me again"

"Aurora, you know I can't do th-"

"IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT! It's about what I NEED! Now let me go!" She said snatching out of his grip and rushing out the door.

"Aur-" Stephanie started to say as the door slammed shut. "What are we going to do now?"

"I'm not letting her get away again, not this time while I have control over the situation" Paul said as he grabbed his keys out of his pocket and headed towards the door.

"I'm coming with you"

" **No"** He said as he watch the tears start to form in her eyes "one parent at a time" he said softly as he kissed her forehead and walked out.

Stephanie let out a nervous sigh and looked down to find her hands trembling. She couldn't believe what just happened and what has happened to her daughter, but all she knew was that she was going to fight with every bit of strength in her bones to win her back and have her in her life once again.

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Drop them reviews and tell me how grateful you are for me updating...just kidding lmao. But now that my stupid ass is aware that I can update on the app instead of my laptop, I'll definitely be able to update much more now. :)


	10. Chapter 10

Uh…Yeah…heyyy y'all…it's meeee, ya girl, i'm baaack lol.

Merry Christmas and suck it Chloe, I did update!

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"Aurora, get in the car" Paul said softly as he slowly rode beside his daughter who was walking very angrily and fast on the sidewalk "get in and we can talk about it"

"there is **nothing** to talk about, I know everything that I need to know about you two"

Paul sighed. "We made a mistake Aurora, a huge mistake, but if you would just allow us the chance to tell you why we had to do what we did then maybe you could understand"

Aurora stopped in her tracks. "I don't need to hear about your little _'mistake'_ the only mistake was telling me now" She said as she crossed her arms and angrily blew air out of her mouth to move a strand of hair out of her face. Paul couldn't help but chuckle, Stephanie did that exact same thing and it always cracked him up, how can you be angry one minute and then do something so adorable like that the next? it's also another reason why she stayed angry with him, she took it as he was laughing at her and not taking the situation seriously, it always caused the arguments to go on longer. "And now you're laughing" Aurora said.

 _Like mother, like daughter._ He thought to himself. "I'm not laughing at you, Stephanie does that same thing"

"What same thing?" Aurora asked

"Nevermind, it's nothing" he said as he put the car in park "get in, it'll be cold soon."

As much as she wanted to continue to walk, she couldn't ignore the fierce breeze that disrespected her sweater as it ran through her. She knew he was right and she would not make it all the way home once it really started to get dark, and if it's one thing she knew, it's that you did not want to be caught walking alone in her neighborhood, getting more bruises would be the least of her worries.

"Fine" she said reluctantly "but I want you to take me straight home, _**my**_ home"

Paul sighed. "I'm not taking you back there, ever." he said as he turned up the heat before giving her his full attention "so you can just forget that all together, you're never going back there and that's final."

Aurora wanted to protest, she wanted to scream and fight and hit him and tell him why she was right and he was wrong, but deep down she knew she truly did not want to go back, and by the tone of his voice, she knew she never would.

* * *

Stephanie's mind was racing, and she could do without all of the questioning that her children were asking her, all she wanted to know was where Aurora was and if she was okay and if Paul was going to bring her back home. Deep down she knew he would never let her return to her old home, so that shouldn't even be a worry of hers, but it had been over an hour and she had no choice but to let her thoughts rule her mind as the time went on. She was about to give up and call him when she saw his car pull up in the driveway. She wanted to run outside and greet him and see if he had bought their daughter back, but she decided she'd wait on the couch incase he came in empty handed, she didn't want him to feel bum rushed the second he walked through the door. So she sat and waited impatiently, the door opened and she stood up, Paul walked in and said nothing, his face read nothing, and Aurora was not beside him. She was about to sit down and cry when a few seconds later Aurora walked through the door. "You should really get that fixed" she said as she rubbed her ankle.

Paul chuckled. "You and Stephanie are the only two that have a problem with that loose brick on the driveway, no one else trips over it but you two"

"I told you I wasn't crazy" Stephanie said to him before she slowly walked over to Aurora "Hey" she said softly

"Hi" Aurora said in the same tone

"Hungry?" Stephanie asked

"I think we have more important things to discuss right now besides food… _mom_ "

Stephanie sighed. "I was just trying to lighten the mood Aurora"

"There is no way to 'lighten the mood' " she said as she brushed past Stephanie and sat on the couch.

"Just give her time, it took me forever to get her to get rid of the sarcastic tone"

Stephanie nodded. "Okay" she said softly as she walked over and sat next to Aurora on the couch who was already making herself at home by removing her shoes and propping her feet up on the couch.

"So" Aurora said as she leaned back against the couch with her arms resting behind her head "What do you want to tell me?"

"I'd like for you to take this seriously, first of all" Stephanie said sternly

"pfft" Aurora sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"I will not be disrespected in my home Aurora"

"Must be nice to have one" she countered quickly

Stephanie pressed her lips into a thin line, she was trying to asses how to work through this, but if Aurora kept this up it would be her hands around her neck in a minute. She quickly erased the thought from her mind, her poor child has been through enough, and here she is with the thought of choking her out for giving her a little bit of attitude. "Why don't we start with you, tell me what is on your mind and how you're feeling"

"You want to know how I feel?" Aurora asked as she placed her feet on the floor and removed her hands from behind her head so she could lean forward and look Stephanie directly in her eyes. "I feel like you didn't give a rat's shit about me until you knew I was a fan of him!" she said pointing to Paul. " ** _That's_** how I feel"

" **Aurora** " Paul said very sternly "you will **not** speak to your mother like that, do you understand me?" Aurora went to protest but Paul cut her off " I _**said** _ do you understand me?"

"Yes" she responded softly with her head down "I'm sorry"

"That is not true Aurora, I always cared" Stephanie said "I always loved you, I always wanted to find you and before you say I didn't, trust me, we tried. I know you think we didn't try hard enough but we did, it just got to a point to where there was nothing we could do." Aurora went to speak but Stephanie cut her off. "I know, I know, money and resources." Stephanie said as she cut her daughter off. "We were searching long before we had that and after, it just became hopeless at one point, we got so down and out about it that it started to affect our work and our lives and we knew we had to provide for ourselves and your siblings so we had to let it go for a little bit longer until we got to a place where we could just stop everything and give it our all. It was not long before I met you, that we briefly spoke of it again. It was and **is** such a touchy subject that we hated the idea of bringing it up to the other without a solution. Coming up empty handed was not an option for us again, and not one we could bear."

"For your own sanity you just forgot about me so you could continue to board your private jets? or was it to get a new pair of Chanels?"

"Aur-" Paul started to say before she cut him off

"No, like I told you in the car, you guys do not get to dictate how I feel, and _**this**_ is how I feel, so deal with it" she said crossing her arms and leaning back. Stephanie reached up and brushed a strand of hair out of her daughter's face. "It's not fair" Aurora said softly "It's just not"

"I know" Stephanie said as she scooted closer "But let's focus on the now, and now you have us and we are more than willing to give you the life you have always deserved, the family and the love you have always deserved. I am not saying you cannot be angry, I am not saying that you cannot have thoughts of the past and you should forget it and move on, or forgive us and move on, but you have to be willing to let it go in order to move on with your life."

Aurora was silent, she knew her mother was right but it was just so hard. She knew they would not expect her to just let it all go and give them a huge hug and move on like it never happened, she knew that they knew it would take time. She was afraid, she was afraid of what all this would mean and how her life would truly change and that was the part she was not ready for, not yet. "I just need some time"

"of course" Stephanie said as she placed Aurora's hand into her own. "we will give you all the time you need, all we ask in return is that you do not push us away."

"I won't" Aurora said softly "I promise"

With that Stephanie's motherly instincts kicked in and boundaries were no more, she gently pulled Aurora in and placed her head on her chest and held her, it didn't take long for the tears to come from both of them. Aurora wrapped her arms around her mom and held her tight as her shoulders shook. Tears of joy, and fear, flowed down her face like an active river and it was not long before Paul joined them and sat on the opposite of Aurora and wrapped them both in his embrace, this was a time for healing, and boy did they all need it. They all let it out, no one tried to be the strong one, there were moments of silence and not long after one of them would sniffle and the tears would flow from them all over again. Soft kisses and "I love you"s were said throughout the night between the three.

The rest of the night was spent with the three of them sharing small stories, Aurora tried to focus on the positive things in her life but there were so few of them that it would eventually get back to the bad. Paul had to keep his composure because God knows if he ever got his hands on the man that abused his daughter he would personally kill him, nice and slow. Stephanie had the same feelings about the female in the household but had to keep herself together because she knew as long as she stayed calm, Paul would as well. The night did end on a good note with Paul cracking a few jokes about the similarities between Aurora and Stephanie to which they both rolled their eyes and would insult his nose. He was normally sensitive about it, but he knew it was in all good fun tonight and he was thankful to have this moment with his wife and daughter. Everything might have gotten off to a rocky start, but by the end of the night, the future was surely looking up for this small family.

* * *

I'm already working on the next chapter, I will drop it when I'm finished.


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